FateKalied LxL
by SaveTheWeak
Summary: They were both Counter Guardians. They were both siblings that had never met. They were from separate realities. Yet a disturbance unexpectantly brought them together. Their fates were now one.
1. Chapter 1

**First, I shall welcome you to my next crossover that includes my waifu, Illyasviel von Einzbern, and I wish you will enjoy.**

**Secondly, I apologize for the lack of Karakura updates, I really wanted to publish this so I was mostly brainstorming and reading other fanfiction for ideas.**

**Thirdly, please correct me on any wrong information and this story shall not be proof-read by my beta as it includes my waifu and I want to dedicate this to her.**

**Chapter 1**

**Summoning**

* * *

Within a forgotten and dark cave, a light briefly replaces the natural darkness. Bats, who were not expecting the light, flew away in panic. The ceiling rumbled a bit from the sudden movement of bats. And where once the only thing in the main clearing was spikes on top and the puddles of water below, two circles, which he appeared side by side together, appeared.

Two people soon materialized, one from each circle.

The first thing the two individuals noticed was the presence of the other individual.

One knew the identity of the other and the other didn't know the exact identity of the first.

They stared at each other dumbly before the first one, a tall, dark-skinned, and white-haired man, spoke. "Are you the one who summoned me?"

The other one, a short, pale, and white-haired girl dressed in a pink frilly magical girl costume, gave him a confused look. "Um... I thought I was the one who was summoned..."

They both blinked at each other in utter confusion and bewilderment before battle-hardened instincts kicked in and the man jumped away, summoning a black bow. The girl followed suit and readied her wand.

A tense silence was birthed between them. They were both ranged fighters so there was no need to charge in. Instead, it was more like a tense gun battle. Whoever drew first won but they were still uncertain as to what was happening and as such both of them refused to be the one to initiate hostilities.

The man cleared his throat, causing the girl to tense. "Archer-class servant, and you are?"

The girl blinked in surprise but mimicked Archer. "C-Caster-class servant..." she blurted out, instantly sweating as she started to think that perhaps that was the wrong answer.

Caster's head spun as she tried to figure out what was happening.

A minor conflict raged within Archer, his mind conflicting on which emotion he should be in. On one hand, he should be relieved at seeing his beloved sister's face and the other, he was debating on how to exploit her holes and swiftly put an end to her existence.

His relief won out and he slowly put down his weapons but remained tensed as Caster kept her wand up.

Caster, seeing Archer lower his weapons and raised his hand in surrender, followed suit with putting her wand beside her.

"So... Truce?" Archer asked, his weapons dissipating in motes of mana and his arms crossing.

Still feeling uneasy, Caster nodded.

Archer frowned a bit at Caster's unease. "So... Do you feel any connection to your master?"

Caster uneasily, and very hesitantly, closed her eyes and concentrated.

Archer did the same.

Nothing. After a minute of searching, they found no connection to their summoner.

With that confirmed, Archer decided to test the waters for his next theory. "Are you a... Counter guardian?"

His muscles tensed up in anticipation of the answer. To him, this question was beyond personal. For someone who had lost everything in the pursuit of his ideals, he craved for those things he had lost.

"Y-Yes..." Archer's fist clenched in silent anger before letting it dissipate in order to not frighten his fellow Counter Guardian. "I-I assume you're one as well...?"

Caster's voice, her face... It belonged to his sister, his dear sister who had died when her body had failed her. Her sister that died without him seeing her through as he was out pursuing his ideals.

By now, the only one prepped for action was Archer as Caster seemed to have gotten some comfort that perhaps they were allies in their goal to protect humanity. She had presumed that because they were both under the employ of humanity's collective consciousness, Alaya, there was no reason for him to hurt her.

Yet, in Archer's mind, his mind was seething. This was his sister, perhaps a different version that had never met him, but he seethed in the fact a version of _his _sister was under the employ of Alaya.

"Did you receive any orders from Alaya?" he asked coldly, his tone sending shivers down Caster's spine.

Caster, who was feeling a chill from the man who looked like a more masculine version of Kuro, nervously tried to wrack her mind as quick as she could lest she earns the ire of the man.

"N-No... I-I thought you were my t-tutorial on how to be a 'C-Counter Guardian'..." Caster admitted. "A-Although I guess you aren't, are you..."

Archer blinked in confusion, the terms 'tutorial' foreign to him.

Caster, sensing his confusion, rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "T-This is my first time being summoned as a Counter Guardian..."

Behind her sheepish face, the gears of her mind turned as it tried to figure out what was happening.

Archer too tried to comprehend what was happening as he too had not received any knowledge pertaining to their 'mission.' Hell, he didn't even know if there was a mission to begin with!

"Your first time?" Archer asked uncertainly. "This is your first deployment?"

Caster scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I guess so..."

Archer sighed heavily as he moved to the center of the clearing and inspected the two summoning circles. A sword appeared in his hand, which lit aflame, and stabbed it into the ground, lighting the room.

Archer noticed the way Caster tensed when he summoned the sword. It was a nameless sword that he had given the property of fire to so it certainly had no part in history. He put that aside for now and earnestly studied to the circles.

Caster recognized the mage craft anywhere, Kuro's 'tracing.' No, scratch that, it wasn't Kuro's as it belonged to the Archer-class servant that was embedded in the Archer-class card... _Oh._

At that moment, they both knew each other's identity without uttering a word that could be used to identify them.

Shirou Emiya.

Illyasviel von Einzbern.

* * *

**Chapter 1 End**

**I should probably clear up and define my schedule to all of you guys awaiting Karakura. Monday and Tuesday (sometimes) I will be working on this fanfiction; from there I will work on Tuesday (if I'm able), Wednesday, and Thursday (sometimes) on unpublished fanfic; Karakura will then take Thursday (if I'm able), Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**The Mage and Her Knight**

* * *

"I... I want to live... I want to be... With Shirou..."

_Analyzing conditions, all conditions have been met. Processing wish..._

"I just want to go... To a world of wonders... I want to be..."

_The winner has been deceased, calculating... Siphoning the last energies... Wish has been granted. Accessing loser #5's knowledge... Access complete. Activating Second Magic... Locating winner... The winner has been found, requisitioning servant... Identifying "Shirou," accessing the winner's knowledge. "Shirou" has been found, requisitioning servant._

* * *

"This is a summoning circle..." Archer said with a sigh.

"What does that mean?" Caster inquired, her frilly pink outfit making her glow a bit, making it easy for Archer to spot her out.

Archer heaved another sigh as he stood up and crossed his arms on his chest. "Meaning, we weren't summoned as Counter Guardians, instead we were summoned as servants."

"Servants..." Caster's thoughts wandered to the only "Holy Grail War" she experienced.

"But, since we didn't receive any knowledge on anything when we were summoned, it would seem the grail in this war has an anomaly..." Archer's face visibly scrunched up in disgust before he heaved another sigh. "You're a caster right?"

Caster fidged a bit from the intense stare Archer was giving her and tried to formulate an answer. "U-Um... W-Well... I'm more of a second-rate magus more than anything..."

Archer, obviously now stressed with what was happening and cursing his E-rank luck, pinched the bridge of his nose.

"So... What are we going to do now?" Caster asked as they walked down a dirt path with tan cloaks covering them that Archer conjured up.

Archer sent a side glance at Caster, amusement evidently in his eyes. "You want to play dolls?"

"Hey!" Caster said indignantly. "For your information, _mister. _I am 13!"

Archer gave Caster a sarcastic grin. "You want to play dress up instead?"

Caster's cheeks gained a minor red blush as she poked her fingers together. "Can we? I do like trying on some clothes."

Archer stumbled a bit at the answer, recovering quickly he decided to immediately change subjects. "13? That's a bit young to be a Counter Guardian..."

Caster's mood immediately turned sheepish at the reminder of her death. "W-Well... I-I guess it started with me being in a tough spot... And well, I asked A-Alaya for help... After the whole thing, I may have accidentally drunk a potion I found that may or may not have been p-poisoned..." she said sheepishly, obviously heavily embarrassed on how hilarious her death was.

Processing that her death was a mere embarrassing memory for her, Archer presumed it safe for light conversation. "Oh? Care to tell as to why you drank a potion before checking? After all, are you not a magus?"

Caster flushed in embarrassment. "W-Well... Y-You know h-how after clearing a d-dungeon there are always rewards... I-I may have a-assumed that the loot was safe..." she said with utter embarrassment as she dwindled her fingers.

Archer chuckled at Caster's, or Illya's, hilarious way of thinking, causing her to flush brighter red. "You truly are a child," he said with a sarcastic smirk.

Caster puffed her cheeks in agitation as Archer continued to laugh at her plight. _Scratch that! He isn't Shirou! _"Y-You... Meanie!" she yelled, closing her eyes and pointing her wand at Archer.

Archer's eyes widened with shock as he extended out his arms to summon a shield. "Oi oi oi!"

_Boom! _

* * *

A police officer yawned a bit as he took a bite out of his sandwich. Savoring his dinner, he checked the time.

8:56

He groaned a bit before continuing his late dinner.

_Boom!_

He jumped in surprise at the noise explosion which made him drop his sandwich. Cursing very audibly, he turned to his partner, who was fast asleep and awoke him. "Wha-?" his partner drooled.

"Wake up shithead! Call for backup! This is a possible illegal arms deal!"

The partner immediately got the radio and reported back to the station while the first police officer drove towards the smoke.

"This is officer Santos, possible illegal arms deal in the forest. I repeat possible illegal arms deal in the forest, requesting back up! Heading towards the smoke!"

_Static._

The second officer shouted at the first, "Hans! The transmission broke!"

"No shit, Sherlock!"

* * *

"I-I-I-I'm s-sorry!" Caster apologized as she bowed furiously, her back going up and down faster than even Archer's eyes could see. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

A bit singed from the point-blank attack, Archer simply rolled his shoulders before shrugging. "It's fine," he waved off. "Anyways, shall we continue to look for civilization, brat?"

Caster puffed her cheeks in irritation but suppressed the impulse to blow her fellow servant into smithereens.

After walking a little bit further, they finally found civilization.

The many lights and the skyscrapers confirmed the time period they were summoned in, which luckily they both were familiar with.

Unknowingly, they both released a breath they did not know they were holding.

They both looked at each other with expectant stares before they erupted in a fit of chuckles and giggles.

"I-I'm Illyasviel von Einzbern and you are?" Caster greeted with a smile so innocent that Archer was stock still for a bit.

Once he recovered, Archer gave a smirk. "EMIYA, nice to meet you."

"Illyasviel von Einzbern, it is nice to meet you," Caster greeted with a smile. Yet, her eyes spotted something.

_Could a smirk look so sad?_

Then, they heard the distinct noise of police sirens.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Hoped you enjoyed this because I seriously need to get my priorities straight. I mean, I haven't updated Karakura in a while... Anyways, probably not gonna live up to the hype but I at least nudged the plot forward... Honestly, whenever I publish a new story about Illyasviel, I can't just help but _only _type it, I think I might just switch exclusively to Illyasviel fanfictions at this rate... Probably expect another update tomorrow or the day after just because I feel like it...**

**Also, my discord name is DefendAllLolis#9534, send me a message if you want to discuss something relating to the story.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**America**

* * *

Archer debated with himself, should he confront the police or run away?

He quickly weighed the options as the police cruiser pulled up by the road and the two cops exited. "Are you able to cast hypnosis spells?" he inquired from Illya.

She nodded hesitantly.

"Can you hypnotize those two?" Archer asked, pointing to the two cops who were slowly heading towards them.

Illya nodded, determined to be of use to the supposedly alternate version of her big brother.

She rushed towards the duo and stood in front of them with her wand pointed at them.

"Jesus Christ!" one of the cops cursed instinctively. They instantly reacted and pointed their guns at her, their guns steady yet fingers off the trigger.

"Ruby?" she muttered as she looked at her wand. "U-Um..." she turned her gaze at the two police officers, who now had their weapons facing the ground.

"Um... Where are your parents?" the one who didn't yell, asked.

Embarrassment crept up her face, her cheeks becoming beet red. "U-Uh..."

"I'm right here," Archer said in a deathly tone as he appeared behind the officers and swiftly knocked them out with a quick strike at the back of the head. The cops fell with an audible _thud._

Wincing from the impact, Illya meekly looked at Archer who had a serious look on his face. "You could've gotten hurt if they were trigger happy," he said.

Caster nodded weakly as her embarrassment was still evident.

Archer sighed as he automatically scanned the wand in Caster's hands. _Judging the concept of creation... Oh... So that's why it looked familiar. _"Your wand is dormant," he blatantly stated.

"Oh..."

"What can you do _without _'Ruby?'" Archer inquired, pinching his nose.

"I-I can do most of my attacks, I think... But none of them are complicated... Ruby usually did the complicated formulas..."

Archer raised an eyebrow. "Can you do wish-granting?" he inquired.

"Wish... Granting?" Illya asked hesitantly.

"Forget I asked," Archer sighed as he directed his focus to the two unconscious officers. _Judging by their uniforms, the year should be around the early twenty-first century and their names seem to have different origins... _He removed the badge of one of the officers and inspected it. _Florida sheriffs department... So we're in America..._

Looking up in the sky, he tried to find any celestial markers.

Meanwhile, Illya was busying herself by trying to awake Ruby. "Ruby... Um... Can you un-dormant yourself...?"

Silence.

Finally giving up and accepting that Ruby was currently dormant, she turned her attention to Archer for a moment before turning to the large towers and skyscrapers.

What were they supposed to do?

They were summoned without a master and Archer stated that Alaya didn't summon them because of the lack of mission details and the summoning circles. Their mana supply is anonymous and is likely they might never find it. They didn't need to eat or sleep like normal humans so they didn't need money to survive.

Perhaps they will go on some dangerous adventures? Going into dungeons, or saving the world?

_Saving the world... Huh..._

Her mind wandered towards her friends and family. To Miyu and Chloe, to Rin and Luvia.

Do they even exist in this world?

She clutched her wand to her chest, uneasiness and pain clutching her heart in chains.

Then, a hand touched her shoulder. Cold as steel, but warm as a soothing flame.

Looking to her shoulder, her eyes eventually trailed to Archer. "Don't go crying now on me, little miss," he said with a smirk.

The bindings that gripped her heart were forgotten as warmth spread throughout her. A light blush formed on her cheeks but she simply stared at Archer with teary eyes.

"Shirou..."

"Oi! Don't cry!"

* * *

Shirou Emiya. That was a name Archer heavily despised, it was the name of a fool that followed such childish ideals and as such lost everything in the end.

Even his sister.

He looked at Illya,a who was covered in a simple light hoodie that he had created that covered the magical girl costume she wore. The insides of the jacket were woven with the same material that made up the Shroud of Shroud Martin, thus suppressing their energies from any supernatural forces.

He himself forgone his armor and replaced it with a Shroud of Saint Martin-modified shirt.

Having extracted as much information from the two sheriffs, he had placed them by their cruiser and erased their memories of him and Illya.

After that... Well, he did not know what to do. They have no master or Alaya to receive orders from.

They were currently unemployed for the lack of a better term.

With that in mind, Archer simply decided to indulge in Illya's urge to explore the foreign city, which he soon found out was named Tampa.

Illya's eyes widened as she spotted a barbeque stand. Her mouth drooled a bit as she saw the man grill his barbeque, putting the sauce with practiced movements, and sticking the meat with a stick.

Archer followed her gaze before looking back at the drooling Illya. _What's counterfeit compared to murder? _Tracing a one dollar bill was mere child's play for him and he made his way to the stand, Illya following with excitement.

"One, please," he ordered, handing the vendor the money.

"Coming right up."

The man soon handed Archer a barbeque stick. "Here, one barbeque on a stick."

"Thank you," he simply said before turning to Illya. "Here, runt."

Illya took the barbeque with a pout. "Thank you..." she mumbled as she bit into it. A mixed look of delight and relief crossed her face.

Archer's head perked up slightly, his nose picking up magical energy.

* * *

**Chapter 3 End**

**Sorry for the wait, had to attend my dad's graduation for being an SNCO.**

**Not the best chapter I've written, the next chapter is mostly going to be a fight.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Bats**

* * *

Archer sniffed the air, his eyes scanning the area for the source of the smell.

The concentration of mana.

"Mmmm!" she moaned in delight as she continued to dig into her food.

"Aren't you a bit too young to have an orgasm?" he inquired with a smirk.

Illya choked on the meat she was chewing and was reduced to violent coughs and a blushing mess. "I-I'm- cough- n-not 10!" she indignantly coughed out.

"Yeah yeah..." Archer waved off, "keep up."

"W-Wait what-"

Archer, after finding the source of the smell, he took off, careful to limit himself to that of a very athletic runner.

Illya finished swallowing her food before taking off as well. "Wait up, Shirou!"

* * *

Archer narrowed his eyes at the dead apostle, who was currently feasting on what appeared to be a prostitute of some kind. The dead apostle, seemingly a recently turned one, based on the lack of awareness, carelessly drank the blood without anything to keep out bystanders.

He turned to his right to find Illya watching with horror, her fist tightening and eyes dilated. This is not my Illya... She would've accepted it and plan a way of attack or simply ignored it and perhaps tipping the Burial Agency...

It was obvious, from the lack of emotion-driven action and vomit, that she had seen something similar but the contrast to his Illya was prominent.

He shook his head and instead thought on his course of action. On one hand, he could just ignore it and lay low, or he could just snipe it and then leave. But, does this dead apostle have a master?

That was the tricky part because True Apostles were a dangerous bunch, some having the power to rival top-tier servants.

Suddenly, the dead apostle's head snapped towards them, a sadistic smile flashed his red teeth. Suddenly, he burst into a colony of bats which flew upwards and forced Illya on her butt.

"Ow..."

Tch. A familiar breeder... This is definitely no recently turned dead apostle. Archer chastised himself mentally. His eyes followed the bats as the plummeted downwards.

Tracing Kanshou and Bakuya, he immediately charged forward towards the swarm of bats.

The familiar sound of steel rang out.

Kanshou's strike was met with hard metal and as the bats fully reformed, what met kanshou was a cold blade that hummed with power.

Archer immediately brought up Bakuya in a sideways swipe.

The dead apostle's eyes moved to Bakuya, a hand taken off his sword and moved towards Archer's other blade.

Archer immediately took the weakened grip to push with Kanshou, throwing Bakuya forward - missing the dead apostle - in order to grip the dead apostle's wrist to prevent him reinforcing his grip. The dead apostle's grip on his sword failed, allowing Archer to get around the apostle, forcing the apostle down by dragging the wrist down.

Then, the dead apostle burst into a colony of bats, which flew past Archer and reformed from above. "Take this you bastard!" the dead apostle screamed.

Archer, being an experienced servant, rolled forward to where Illya was and began to trace-

"Fuer!"

Illya's wand, Ruby, lit up and a massive beam of energy shot from the tip, and consumed the dead apostle whole.

Archer straightened his posture, his eyes going to Illya, to see if she was showing any signs of exhaustion from using a primitive, mundane yet effect blast of mana. Absolutely no signs of exhaustion.

Illya's eyes turned to Archer's, her brows scrunching up in confusion as to why he was looking at her so intently. Then, a chop to the forehead.

Archer looked at Illya's face with an amused expression as she tended to her new injury. "Owiee! Why did you have to do that?!" she whined as she rubbed her bruise.

"You throw around your spells so carelessly, we would be lucky if no normal bystanders saw that, which is highly unlikely," Archer lectured, but his tone was light-hearted as if he was simply doing it for amusement.

"Meanie..." Illya puffed.

Archer jumped down, to which Illya reluctantly joined him in, her hood falling on top of her head. She sucked in her breath as they approached the body.

"Stop right there, vampires!" an angry voice yelled at them from behind. "You shall pay for your murders!"

_An executor?_

Archer calmly walked past Illya, his swords slowly tracing, not in a rush to form. "Vampires? You must be recently brought in the fold to call dead apostles by that childish name," he snarked. "Especially since you can't tell that we aren't one of them."

The executor narrowed his eyes, his face scrunching up in anger. "Your arrogance certainly matches theirs!" he roared, as he lit up the weapon that he held in his hand. The light condensing to form a pretty solid sword.

"Your speed certainly isn't at all impressive," Archer remarked as he took a step forward, swords already fully traced.

Dirt was kicked up as Archer sped towards the charging executor. Sword merely poised to disarm his weaker opponent.

The executor, who apparently had combat experience, stumbled into a tight roll, narrowly evading Archer's strike.

Planting his leading foot on the ground, he coiled up his leg to absorb most of the energy before shooting off towards Archer.

Only a bit surprised that the young executor had dodged his strike, Archer immediately slid himself to a halt before preparing himself for the onslaught of attacks.

Poising himself for a running stab, the executor coiled his arms like a loaded gun before releasing it in a quick and heavy stab.

Archer tossed his swords away, drawing the executor's eyes to them briefly. It was over.

Archer first latched on to the executor's wrist and broke his grip on the light sword. Next, he latched on to the executor's neck and lifted him high.

"Grgggk."

Archer's nose twitched. "Shit. More executors."

* * *

**Chapter 4 End**

**I just want to turn to dust and go with the wind at this rate. Delayed due to exams and my lack of motivation from those exams.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Clueless**

* * *

It was strange, being able to disappear and reappear not by speed but through actualization. Knowing that you were there yet not to another person without the wind speeding past your face and the adrenaline pumping in your blood.

"Fan out! Search the whole city," the gruff voice of the eldest executor said sternly. The group of executors, a dozen or so men or women in priest clothing, obeyed and dispersed.

Archer, for reasons that Illya could only guess, had chosen to not flee and instead to observe the interactions between the eldest and injured executor. The handle of the light sword he nabbed from the injured executor not making a noise as he flipped in his hand.

Illya silently watched as the elder executor gave a welcoming hand to the injured executor. "Are you hurt?" asked the elder.

"Yes, father, I do not feel my wrist and my light blade was taken away from me..." the injured one replied.

"Very well, can you stand?"

"I can."

"Good, we will make haste to the church."

Illya sent a glance at Archer, who followed them with his eyes but made no other moves. Once they were out of hearing range, he spoke, "Let's go." Archer then proceeded to push himself off the wall and jumped out of the alleyway and onto the roof.

Illya followed.

"So what are we going to do?" she asked as they hopped roofs.

There was silence from Archer for a bit before he replied, "Search for clues."

"Clues?"

"Clues on our summoning."

Illya looked at Archer with unhidden puzzlement. "Why are we now rushing for clues?" she inquired, having seen nothing of note that would have illicit the urgency Archer had imposed.

"The longer we stay, the longer we play with Gaia," he replied solemnly. "Without the protection of a grail or Alaya, we are exposed to Gaia's influence, making doing anything next to impossible," he elaborated.

It didn't take long to arrive at the cave where they were first summoned in. "Didn't we already search the area?" Illya inquired.

"We might have missed something," Archer replied smoothly. "If not, I'll cook up something for you."

"Using a kitchen?"

"Ah, good point."

They thus then settled into an awkward silence as they re-entered the cave and walked inside, Archer scanning the area for clues while Illya following behind.

* * *

Archer sighed, the search was a total bust, not even disassembling the summoning circles and deciphering them had led to any leads. All he was left with was mental tiredness and wasted time.

Illya, on the other hand, was just happy to be free from the confines of the cave and the immediate surrounding area. A tired yawn escaped from her restlessness. "So what should we do now?" she inquired with as much willpower she could muster.

"Well, for one, we can get a place for rest," Archer replied while stretching a bit. He looked towards the position of the sun and made an effort to calculate the date.

"We were there for a whole day," Illya sighed in defeat.

Archer sighed as well, "I will take the blame for that."

Suddenly, his ears picked up the slow and almost silent breaking of leaves all around them. His nose smelt the air for any prana in the air, to find none.

It was relatively hard to see within the forest as the shadows cast were thicker and longer, almost covering the whole forest in thick darkness, making it impossible to accurately determine their assailants.

Illya took note of Archer's alertness and the grip on her wand tightened its hold.

Howls suddenly erupted all around.

Wildlife it was.

Instantaneously, Kanshou and Bakuya were traced within Archer's hands and he flew into a whirlwind as he sliced two wolves in half.

A beam of magic quickly shot one that was going to pounce from behind, courtesy of Illya.

Archer then rushed through the brief smoke to meet the final wolf. He paused, his nose twitching as he picked up a distant smell of mana.

A distant relative to a phantasmal beast?

The magus within him, the one that Rin had repeatedly drilled into him, flared a bit as he looked at the wolf as not a nuisance but as a specimen of some kind. Now gaining a new sense of purpose instead of eradication, Archer willed for his married blades to revert back to mana.

He cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck, this was going to be an interesting experience, to say the least.

By now, the mana imbued wolf, had slowly backed away, now that all its kin had died and the aura Archer exhibited sent shivers down its spine.

Now that Archer thought about it, weren't red wolves a rare or endangered species?

If he were a lesser man, he would've undoubtedly heavily considered taking the wolf to the black market. But as an abnormally just person he was, his moral code and mindset had not let his mind even conjure such thought.

The wolf tried to run away, seemingly thinking it was a good time to run with its life. How wrong it thought.

Archer was immediately on the wolf, his arms scooping up the wolf as if it was a domestic puppy. He smirked, "Since we don't have a place for me to work up some food, how about a pet?"

His inquiry seemed to snap Illya out of her dazed stare. "Uh... S-Sure...?" The particular sight was so bizarre that immediately after she snapped out of her daze, she giggled a bit.

The wolf tried to scramble out of its captor's hold by squirming, biting, and at one point trying to howl for any nearby wolves in desperation. However, a stern look from Archer as well as a flare of his prana seemed to kick in primal instincts and the wolf stopped squirming, its head hung low as it accepted its fate.

Illya giggled some more before erupting to outblown laughter.

Archer smirked, but his eyes were soft.

The wolf tried to duck its head lower to no avail.

* * *

**Chapter 5 End**

**Since all my friends seemingly are on vacations or just don't want to play with me... I have decided to focus more on Minecraft... Which includes loads of free time as I wait for XP from my skeleton farm, as such, I have decided to dedicate my time to finishing this arc and possibly the next.**

**God, I missed writing and all the imaginations it came with it.**

**Update 7/11/19: Added the lines**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Uncertainty**

* * *

With essentially no leads, the duo and the half roamed the streets. The wolf, on several occasions, had tried to escape its captors by fleeing whenever the duo seemed to have been distracted, forcing them to a pet store.

"How are we going to buy the collar and leash when we don't have money...?" Illya inquired from Archer as they roamed the store, the wolf following them with a mixture of primal fear and curiosity as it too browsed the shop, taking in smells it had never smelt before.

"I can make money on the fly," Archer replied dismissively as he eyed the collars and sending a few glances at the wolf.

"R-Right..." she said, embarrassed at her seemingly stupid question. "T-That was s-stupid of me to ask..." she apologized quietly.

Again, Archer dismissed her concern with a reassurance, "It's not stupid, you do bring up a valid point, we can't rely on counterfeiting forever."

Counterfeiting money was certainly pushing his morals and his sense of just-

He shook his head.

It wasn't like the economy would collapse due to a few dollars of counterfeit money.

"A-Ah..." Illya seemed a bit more relieved at the reassurance. "So what are w-we going to do, now?"

"Hm? Well, with no leads we don't necessarily have to do anything. We could even separate as there is-"

"No!"

Archer raised an eyebrow at the interruption. To her credit, Illya did seem embarrassed afterward by her outburst.

He saw as a few people looked at them with curiosity before either staring or simply returning to their task.

Taking note of the stares, Illya seemed to shrivel to a baby, much to Archer's twisted amusement. "I'm just joking, anyways, what collar do you think we should get?"

His hand immediately caught the fleeing wolf by the hips, which immediately flopped on the floor in defeat, its eyes angrily boring to every staring human.

"Uh..." The plethora of choices seemed to have stumped Illya, who was torn on giving the fierce wolf an intimidating collar or a cute one.

Finally deciding on one that seemed rather fitting for the wolf, she plucked it out and showed it to Archer. "H-How about this one...?" she inquired meekly.

The collar she had picked out was a collar that had spikes protruding all around. In short, one eerily similar to Berserker's in the Fifth Fyuki Grail War from Archer's timeline.

Archer quirked an eyebrow before a smirk came on his face. "You still attached to Berserker?" his inquiry was met with a confused stare. Realization struck him. _Right, not the same Illya... _he cursed inwardly.

He coughed into his fist in minor embarrassment. "Nevermind," he said dismissively. He pondered a bit, his eyes trailing towards the numerous amount of collars. "I think this one is a better fit..."

* * *

They left the pet store with all the assortment of things they need for the wolf, sans a nametag and dog food.

Next, some other things they may need... Or want.

First on their list, clothes. It shouldn't really be needed to be explained but they couldn't really rely on him for clothing, especially Illya as she would become bare given they were far enough apart.

"T-Ta-da-!"

Archer snickered a little, that was by far the weakest "ta-da" he had ever heard.

"H-Hey!" Illya's pout did little to help her case.

She was showing too much skin, in his opinion. Booty shorts and a sleeveless shirt left little to the imagination. Although considering its in-field and practicality in battle, it allowed incredible freedom in movement and agility.

Although, something in the back of his mind told him that Illya wasn't thinking of the practicality.

He shook the feeling off, instead merely balancing his morality and the practicality. "Hm... Is it comfortable?"

Illya shuffled a bit, confirming his suspicions. "W-Well, it is a bit too tight on my b-butt..." she admitted, her face lit up like a lightbulb from embarrassment.

"Well, if you like the style, we can just pick a size bigger," Archer shrugged.

* * *

After shopping for some clothes, they had moved on to electronics because... Well, because as a child, Illya still needed her entertainment on their little "trip."

They had left the wolf outside, the leash tied to a lamp-post, and once they were out of view, it struggled relentlessly to get out of the leash.

Browsing through the phones, he paused. A cold sweat ran down his face. "Shit."

It has only been mere days since his execution.

He glanced at Illya, her expression excited as she speedily skimmed through all the electronics.

_Damn it, I was too careless. _This was very bad if the government came to know that he was back from the dead... His stare on the date hardened with resolve.

He will kill every last one of the government agents... To save Illya. After all, that was something a Hero of Justice would never do.

That what a man always does.

Kill one to save one. Kill ten to save one. Kill a hundred to save one. Kill a thousand to save one.

He stilled his thoughts. But wasn't his dream what made Illya look up to him? His stare on the phone softened.

Wasn't his dream make him who he was? Wasn't his dream the reason why Saber, Rin, and Sakura fell in love with him? Wasn't his dream the cause of his death?

He was in turmoil. Two sides raged an endless war.

* * *

A faint smile wormed its way on his face as he watched as Illya beamed at the new phone she got. Her expression that of an excited child who had received a gift on her birthday.

Yet, he could not help but feel worried. He was receiving stares, did they recognize him? Or did they simply entranced by his stark white hair?

God, he hated when he was uncertain.

* * *

**Chapter 6 End**

**A Silent Voice, Violet Evergarden, and Koboyashi Dragon Maid these animes are undoubtedly in my top 10 most favorite animes... God bless KyoNi.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Answers**

* * *

A month flew by quickly for Illya, most likely due to the constant traveling Archer was having them do.

Their travels, so far, mostly consisted of them exploring the East Coast of America and traveling across the Atlantic.

They had traveled up to the city of New York at a walking pace, taking hitch-hikes whenever possible. From there, they had taken a cruise towards London.

The reason why they had taken the boat instead of a plane was something beyond her, it seemingly having to do with Archer's increasing paranoia.

Oh, after much much consideration, they had named the wolf, Cu, a name put forward by Archer and seemingly had provided endless entertainment for him.

Thus, she, Archer, and Cu ended up in front of Big Ben or, known to the duo as, the Clocktower. "What are we doing here...?" Illya inquired.

"Clues," Arched replied almost instantly.

Illya was worried. Worried because infiltrating the moonlit world's practical center was paramount suicide but she had faith in breaking in relatively unharmed.

Now that she thought about it, it sounded like a death wish.

"Are we just going to break in there...?"

"Why would you think that? We're going to astralize of course."

Illya felt a bit sheepish at her question but that did bring up the question of: "What about Cu?"

At being called, the domesticated wolf lifted it's head only to put it down again when it met Archer's amused stare. "A dog always has a leash, does it not?"

Cu seemed to be fuming from the remark with it glaring intently.

* * *

Security... Well, security was non-existent. There was no bounded field, no wandering magus to suspect something amiss, and no magus in general. The whole thing was just a glorified palace with normal guards and normal modern security.

There was no sign of the very existence of the Clocktower.

Archer suppressed a groan as they passed a tourist entourage.

"They would never allow regular humans in..." Illya seemed to share the same thought as him.

If he remembered correctly, as, in foggy memories of a distant past, Lord El-Melloi II's study was just up ahead. Clicking open the door, he strode in materializing as he did so.

Illya did the same as she looked around the room.

It was just a normal study of a noble. There were no suspicious books that held mana, nothing that could denote this room differently than any other study of a nobleman.

Archer couldn't help but grimace a bit.

* * *

Once they exited the clocktower it Illya noticed that Archer seemed to carry less weight... It wasn't that he had lost weight but it was the fact that a certain burden that was beyond Illya seemed to have lifted from his shoulders.

This made her mind run rampant. It was clear as day that this Shirou wasn't her Shirou. It was more than likely the Archer card that Miyu's Shirou used and eventually mimicked.

Yet, she knew that he was _a _Shirou Emiya that had an Illya in it based solely on the pain that she had seen in his eyes whenever he looked at her.

Her heart clenched. She had died early... She didn't get to say goodbye to her Shirou. She was trying to replace her Shirou with an alternate timeline version of him and while trying to replace Archer's Illya with herself.

If they keep up this cascade any longer, it would be more than likely that the memories of their versions of each other will be replaced...

Archer chopped Illya's head causing the poor girl to yelp in surprise from the surprise attack. "Eh? What was that for?" she asked as she rubbed the top of her head in feeling for anything off.

"I only can guess what you're thinking now... But don't think hard on it because we are here now," Archer said sagely, a soft smile in the place of his usually smug one.

"B-But-!"

Archer's memories of how Illya acted during his lifetime flashed throughout his head. His soft smile only grew. "After all, if you used all your nutrients to think on unnecessary stuff, how do you expect to grow?" His soft smile turned into a smug smirk.

A pout greeted him and as she looked away, he allowed himself to smile softly once more.

* * *

With a revelation that they were indeed in a different timeline, Archer felt all his fears of him being a wanted deadman being put to rest.

After all, if there was no Clock Tower, then that would mean magic organizations didn't evolve beyond research committees. If there wasn't any association like the Clock Tower, then many, many things that would not have happened that would lead the very existence of Shirou Emiya almost nigh impossible, at least with his dream of being a Hero of Justice.

This also proves that the cycle could be broken.

He shook his head to dispell his thoughts, it would be hypocritical to think so hard when he reprimanded Illya for doing the same.

Then his instincts screamed for him to move.

Move he did.

Not knowing if Illya had sensed the danger, Archer latched on to her and hugged her tightly as he fell into a roll.

An explosion destroyed the pavement where they once were.

_What the hell! Are they fucking idiots?! _It was basic knowledge that all moonlit activities were always done inconspicuously or hidden away from the "normal" world. Attacks such as these were to be obviously seen in-

_Oh._

Everyone that was milling about around them was frozen. No, scratch that, the world around them was frozen.

He broke his roll and carefully stood up, doing his best not to hurt Illya.

Illya felt a bit jarred from the sudden actions of Archer scenery. Once she understood that she was on the floor with Archer on her, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

Of course, when Archer got off her, she stood up.

Archer and Illya stared in the general direction from where the attack came from.

A hundred eyes and around one-hundred hundred bat wings greeted them...

A sinister grin formed on the leading figure. "Shall we have fun, spirits?"

* * *

**Chapter 7 End**

**If you enjoyed this chapter, I would love if you guys checked out my new stories such as New Order and Black Prominence.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Reviews (God, I haven't done these in a while)**

**osterreicher97 Q (simplified): Shouldn't the duo be identified as spirits?**

**A: Yes, I made the correction once you mentioned it, I believe.**

**shelwyn Q: Will your time to shared now instead of put on this?**

**A: It has always been shared. As I'm a scatterbrained person, I can't concentrate on one story before losing interests after a few chapters (as evident when I simply played games the whole summer with little to no updates when I only had two stories to update. It was only after I got new story ideas that I got inspired to write again).**

**simple405 A: I... Please trust me when I said I didn't read your review when I named the wolf...**

**Obliumm Q: 100 eyes would be 50 pairs of bat wings unless it's a squad of 50 Satan class devils...**

**A: Oops, I put sets didn't I? I'll change up the numbers a bit (I swear I thought it worked out)... I changed it to 100 eyes and around 100 wings...**

**Also, since chapter 1, I have been told that I should change the number of words I put into a chapter... I have an answer that will hopefully satisfy people: **

**"Because I usually take a long time to update, the chapters need to be short in order for anyone to easily binge read an arc or the whole story if they needed to. It is also because I can put the idea down without needing to elongate it beyond what it needs to be."**

**Of course, this answer won't satisfy people, just know that it is supposed to be simple and straightforward.**

**Also, hi rmarcano321.**

**Chapter** **8**

**Brave Shine**

* * *

The battle started with the bat-winged people shooting off a barrage of various ranged attacks. This barrage forced Archer and Illya to evade them to escape the kill zone of all the barrage.

As the dust kicked up, the leader of the grouped called for a cease-fire. "Hold your fire!"

Silence rang out through the battlefield as the devils waited for signs of the duo's survival. Suddenly, something emerged from the smoke. "Left side!" Everyone's eyes snapped to the left on to find an umbrella shooting outwards before falling harmlessly on the ground.

Then, on the right, a massive beam of pure mana tore through their ranks.

* * *

As Illya tore through their ranks with her single attacked and subsequently drew their attention, Archer locked on all the bat-winged people before letting loose of his arrows in rapid succession.

Yet, it would seem they were smart enough to keep some people in reserve in which they drew from. A massive wall of energy encompassed his view of the group.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance as half of the group that attacked Illya came towards her to draw her in for close combat. The other half, now with a new objective, threw their barrage of spells at him, hitting many frozen bystanders in the process.

They needed to be destroyed. "I am the bone of my sword... Rho Aias!"

Illya tried to shoot down the enemies rushing her to no avail as they simply evaded her attacks and pressed on.

Archer seemed to be too pressed to help her so she was on her own on this...

Then, half of the winged people started to fire off spells, forcing her into a single general area.

_Think, Illya. Think._

Suddenly, an arrow, something Illya recognized as a sword, came shooting from the surrounding smoke and detonated on the devils. While it did wipe out half of them, they were merely delayed before they continued to pursue her, their confidence that she was weak in close combat now solidified.

They now closed ranks as they approached her rapidly.

Then, she did something unexpected.

She charged, disappearing from their sight.

"Fuer!"

And appeared from underneath their chins, a blast of pure of energy from Ruby sending three out of commission.

"You bitch!" roared one of the devils and charged, the rest coming to their senses before charging themselves.

Illya flinched a little from the insult but only a little.

Readying another mana attack, she aimed her wand towards them. Only for her magical senses to tingle and directing her focus upwards.

She recoiled a bit from the brightness of the setting sun before her eyes adjusted, allowing her to glimpse at the incoming danger.

A 4-winged person.

Seeing that there was no time to redirect her aim, Illya swiftly jumped back, preventing her from getting injured from the strike.

"Why are you attacking us?" Illya asked cautiously, her stance ready to spring away at a moment's notice. "This is an open population center and even if you put a bounded field to stop time... The fallout will still cause casualties and..."

"And?" the person cut in, "we do not care for them and if we are exposed to them. We are devils, rightful rulers of the Earth. You and your brother... Are to be test subjects for our master!"

_Devils_... Illya's mind blanked a bit. "T-That's impossible-" her rebuttal was cut short as she was forced to dodge a swing from the "devil."

Now that she had significant space between them, she started to run backward and charge up an attack. "Fuer!"

Her shot seemed to have hit the devil, who was blindly chasing after her, sending him flying.

She then proceeded to turn her attention to Archer who was in the process of defeating his 4-winged devil.

* * *

These bat people, who he came to learn were devils, were well-coordinated, something that was shown through how they had almost cornered them.

However, it would seem their arrogance was their greatest downfall. The ranged units, in their depleting reserves, had grouped and headed towards th medic, mistakenly thinking that the melee units could hold him off.

With the pressure alleviated, the melee units were child's play. When they tried to attack all at once, he parried them, causing all of them to lose their footing.

Seizing the moment, Archer immediately dispelled his married swords and summoned his bow and a sword. "My core is twisted in madness..." the sword warped into a collapsable sword-arrow and equipped it to his bow. "Caladbolg!" The target was the ranged units.

Striking true, the broken phantasm exploded in a colorful explosion, too fast for the so-called "devils" to put up a shield.

He then ducked, parried, and counterattacked a sudden opponent from above, a four-winged "devil." The others immediately joined in, yet they were being pushed back, their numbers to only a handful.

Suddenly, the 4-winger pulled back. "Retreat! Retreat to headquarters-!"

Only for him to be silenced by a stab into the back.

"Why the fuck..." a wheeze, "are you sounding a retreat against these humans? Our orders were to kill them."

The betrayed devil coughed up blood before glaring. "W-We're in-" Only for him to be silenced when his head was removed from his shoulders.

Archer's eyes narrowed. _What is happening?_

He observed as the surrounding devils tried to back away from the sight, their morale thoroughly crushed after seeing the state of the backstabber, who was charred with major burns, and their supposed leader, who laid dead. "I will bring your heads to-!"

Then, the traitor was consumed in a beam of mana, courtesy of Illya.

Archer turned to Illya, raising an eyebrow. "Did you enjoy the spectacle?"

Illya rubbed her neck sheepishly. "N-Not really..." she replied meekly, her eyes glancing at the corpses of the fallen devils.

Archer merely sent a confused glance at her before looking at the remaining devils.

With the dust now cleared, he took note of their numbers: 4 remained, all four were in different degrees in injury.

"So," Archer began. "Are we done?"

The inquiry seemed to instill a certain amount of fear and apprehension between the four. All three looked to one person, probably the one keeping the bounded field active.

"Let's go..." he said shakily, the bounded field deactivating and the world returning normally. They then retreated away from them and limped away.

Then, the screams.

* * *

_"Today, in the heart of London, just right outside of the Palace of Westminister, a suicide terrorist bombing occurred. The estimated casualties are 45, an additional 20 are suspected to be the perpetrators, with 6 bodies being too damaged to be identified... This is one of the most devasting..."_

Archer and Illya, dressed in more casual clothes, watched in silence. A sense of sadness overcame them. They did not need to die, their deaths were meaningless and most certainly avoidable.

"What will we do now...?" Illya muttered.

"For now... I-I..." The lack of response from the general populace, the absence of the Clock Tower, and the existence of so-called "devils" were all the confirmation that he needed to conclude: Shirou Emiya did not exist in this world.

To make matters worse, or perhaps better, Cu had run off in the middle of the battle. The disappearance of the phantasmic beast-related wolf had removed a burden but set Illya in a sad mood.

He sighed, his eyes moving outside. Only to pause as his eyes locked onto the black pearls of a wolf. "Heh..."

Looks like, they had grown on it.

* * *

**Chapter 8 End**

**Meh, fight, meh chapter. **

**Heh... Zach Snyder.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Stuff**

* * *

To protect innocents indiscriminately, to help those in need, to be the champion of justice; that was the dream of Shirou Emiya, a Hero of Justice.

To sacrifice 1 save 10, 10 for 10, 100 for 1000; that was the method of the heroic spirit, EMIYA.

Yet, both paths led to the deaths of everything and everyone they held dear.

"Hm! So good!"

Yet, he would cherish this moment. He would cherish every moment of the journey between him and this alternate version of Illyasviel.

He will set her free from Alaya's grasps, no matter the cost...

Archer smiled softly.

"Is that so?" he hummed, taking a bite from his own serving.

They were sat in a small hotel in Attendorn, Germany, where the Einzbern's main castle was supposed to be located in solely based on his previous knowledge.

They had traveled straight from London to here mostly just to confirm that they were indeed in a far off alternate version of Earth where the Age of Gods, or at the very least the Age of Heroes, had never ended.

In the small kitchen they were given, he had made them some food. He had made was simple curry with some German ingredients that substituted for the lack of familiar ones.

Even Cu, the ever prideful wolf, had even begrudgingly taken a liking to the food and even begged for more in his bowl.

"I was afraid that the German ingredients might've clashed with the Japanese style of cooking," Archer admitted. "But I suppose this is passable."

"Passable? You mean you can make it ten times better?!" Illya asked immediately, her expression that of a child promised a toy.

"Mhm," Archer hummed in affirmation. "It's simply down to the quality of the ingredients."

"Then we must go to Japan!" Illya declared, pumping her fist to the air.

Archer couldn't help but let his face tug itself into a small smile. "Hm. Well, wouldn't it be best you finish your food first, then?" he inquired with a slight snicker.

Illya immediately pouted before wolfing down her food.

Archer smiled once more, digging into his own food.

"I'm done!" Illya declared happily after mere moments after eating again; Archer couldn't help but stare at Illya blankly.

_Did Illyasviel always eat like this? _Archer thought blankly as he made comparisons between Saber and Illya.

"Glutton," he muttered, his thoughts spilling out of his mouth. Unfortunately for him, Illya heard his mutter.

"M-M-M-Meanie!"

_Fucking E-Rank luck._

"Schießen!"

"I am the bone of my sword! Rho Aias!"

* * *

Archer nursed his right side, he had let his guard down for a brief moment and paid the price for it.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Illya repeatedly apologized.

Archer merely watched in amusement as the alternate version of his sister bowed up and down repeatedly. "The one you should be apologizing to is the poor mutt," he pointed his thumb to the sulking Cu. "After all, you did destroy his bowl alongside his food."

To Archer's utter bewilderment, Illya disappeared immediately and started to repeatedly bow to the wolf. The mere sight of Illya, be it this version or his, bowing repeatedly to a sulking wolf was a sight he will never forget.

A mischevious grin wormed to his face.

_Pa-ping. _"Oops."

To his amusement, Illya immediately froze when he started the video. She slowly turned, her right eye twitching as she stared at him.

The stare turned into a teary glare. "Meanieeeeee!"

Before anything could happen, the distinguishable sounds of knocking reached both of their ears.

_Knock. Knock._

Sending a wary glance at the pouty Illya, who was merely content on glaring at him for now, he moved towards the door and checked who it was through the peephole.

A priest.

"Who are you?" he asked vehemently, foggy memories of the sadistic priest that had once tied Illyasviel to a cross to use her as the holy grail appeared in his thoughts.

"I am Ernst Kurier, head of the local cathedral here, and I bear a message from Heaven."

Curse his E-rank luck.

* * *

"First, the church would like to apologize for the attack that had befallen you from one of our apprentices from America. He was reprimanded once we had confirmed of your claim that you weren't a vampire," Ernst said deeply, bowing his head in apology.

"No problem, he did not cause me or my sister harm," Archer dismissed, sipping the tea that Illya surprisingly made. It wasn't the best tea he drank but it was fine for the occasion.

Ernst raised his head before picking up his own cup of tea and drank it. "Your sister makes fine tea," he commented.

"Mhm. Now that we have your apology done with," Archer started, his eyes narrowed. "How did you know we were here?"

"Heaven told me," Ernst replied with ease as if saying the most obvious thing in the world. "Heaven has also contacted me to extend an olive branch to reconcile and apologize properly."

Archer raised an eyebrow. "What do they want?"

"I do not know, I am but a lowly priest who has come to relay a simple invitation." The priest bowed his head in another apology before sipping his tea. "Also, they have given me a present to give to you. Heaven-"

"Please skip the sweet talk and get to the point," Archer said irritably, not really wanting to listen to the upcoming rant.

Ernst nodded slowly before taking something from underneath his robes, causing Archer and Illya to tense, to reveal a suitcase. "100,000 Euros in cash, no strings attached; you may throw away the cash and deposit it in an account of your making if you so wish." He then opened the case to reveal stacks of cash within it.

In short: no strings attached.

Archer sent a glance at Illya who was simply staring at the cash in bewilderment. "Very well," he sighed, crossing his arms. "Let's see what God looks like."

* * *

**Chapter 9 End**

**Nothing at all happened, like at all. I was just too busy to think of stuff.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Heavenly Meeting**

* * *

Archer's instincts were telling him to run or slay the man before him.

The man was clad in golden armor with broad pauldrons and long drapes attached to said pauldrons. His hair was as long as Illya's, his eyes pointed downwards that only gave innocence, and a holo hovered over his head. Everything about him screamed angel in Archer's mind.

"Welcome," the angel greeted pleasantly, a peaceful smile adorning his face. "Please, take a seat if you will."

Archer scrutinized the angel before sending a glance at the couch and plopping himself down. "So... Who are you?"

Despite Archer's tone, the angel's smile did not waver in the slightest.

"I am Michael, leader of the Seraphim and heaven's domain," the angel, Michael, introduced himself with a slight bow of his head.

Illya opened gaped at the introduction. "Y-Y-You're t-the Michael?!" she stuttered, a blush adorning her face.

Michael nodded. "I am," he reaffirmed kindly. "And who would you be, young lady?"

Illya's mind went blank as her mind overloaded. "I-I-I-Illyasv-viel..." she mumbled out shyly, her hands fidgeting with each other.

Archer allowed himself to smile in amusement at Illya's antics. "So..." he drawled, his smile dropping in an instant and his eyes scrutinizing Michael once again. "What do you want?"

"No need for hostilities," Michael said, his smile trying to disarm the duo. "But I do suppose dragging this any longer would be a waste of both of our time."

Archer merely scoffed before fixing himself in a more disarming and comfortable position. "Go on," he motioned.

Michael seemed to deflate as he too went into a more comfortable but more elegant position. "I am sure that father Ernst has apologized on the Church's behalf on the attack on your persons, Heaven also extends an apology for the misdeeds of one affiliated with us. All we ask for that matter is forgiveness." He then made a slight bow, to which Archer dismissed and motioned him to continue.

"Now, to the main reason why I have come to talk to you in person..." A more determined look crossed his face. "The holy grail."

At those words, both Archer and Illya tensed.

"So my suspicions are correct, you both are somehow connected to the holy grail..." he made no movement as both servants tensed for a fight. "I will not force your answer... But what is your relation to the Holy Grail?"

Archer pondered on the question for a tad bit. This was a new world... A new timeline where the Age of Gods has not ended...

If the Age of Gods have not ended, what was the need to rediscover the Third True Magic, Heaven's Feel?

"We were summoned by it," he declared.

"Who was your summoner?" Michael asked almost immediately, his smile gone and replaced with a neutral frown.

Archer shrugged without skipping a beat. "I do not know, all I know I was suddenly in a cave with Illya here," he ruffled the said girl's hair, eliciting a small squeak from her.

Michael smiled warmly. "Do you know how long ago you were summoned?" he inquired.

"A few months ago," Archer shrugged.

"Do you know where you were summoned?"

He tapped his chin before replying, "It was in a cave near the city of Tampa, in the United States."

The angel nodded in appreciation. "My questions have been mostly satisfied, I do suppose it is only fair for you to ask any questions you have yourselves."

Archer nodded in appreciation, however, before he could ask a question, Illya fired off first.

"CanIseeyourwings?!" she blurted out, mustering enough courage and curiosity to ask.

A surprised look dawned on the angel's face before a light chuckle escaped his lips. "I do apologize, as much as I would love to show you, my power is not something the town can handle easily," he said sincerely. "But do remind me if we ever meet in an isolated area."

"Oh, okay..." Illya looked a bit let down but a little ruffle from Archer and she was embarrassed once again.

"Anyhow, to more serious questions... What is the role of the moonlit world in modern society?" Archer inquired, his posture shifting into a more attentive posture.

Michael raised an eyebrow at the terminology that Archer used but chose not to question it. "Most, if not all, pantheons have separated themselves from the unrelated humans. Of course, organizations like the Church do play an active role in everyday life but the more supernatural elements are kept away from the populous.

"There are, however, many elements of the supernatural interacting with the unaware people; kidnapping, experimentations, miracles, and cross-fire to name some."

Archer slightly grimaced at the first two interactions but continued to ask his questions never the less.

* * *

By the time he was finished asking his questions, it was mid-day.

"That's all," he declared. Illya was sleeping against his shoulder, the poor girl had been too bored but insisted on staying to "absorb" all the information alongside him.

Michael nodded with the warm smile still plastered on his face. "Before we depart, I, along with my fellow seraphs in Heaven, would like to offer you an offer of sorts."

"Oh?"

"The Great War claimed many of my brethren, ever my father has fallen in the war..." Archer had to blink a bit at what Michael suddenly revealed. "But, one of the things that Father taught us was forgiveness. To forgive the ones who had wronged us... To Him... Therefore," his voice swelled with conviction, "please, help us end this war, end this uneasy truce to a lasting conclusion, and end the cycle of hatred brewed between all three of us."

Archer had a double-take. "What?"

Michael smiled softly. "I know, to ask help from a stranger, one who has no background, is suspicious. But..." his eyes wandered to the sleeping Illya. "I had a premonition, a vision, of you and your sister shaking hands with me, Azazel, and the new Lucifer...

"So, please..." at this, the angel stood up and bowed deeply, "help me end this war, this truce, and create harmony between all of us... It may be a borrowed dream, but I would love for everyone, no matter the background, to love one another as if they were family... This dream may seem impossible but..."

Michael was cut off by an impassioned voice, "It is impossible but that impossibility makes it worthy of an ideal..." Archer blinked a bit before coughing into his fist. "Sorry, a slip of the tongue." Despite, what he had said, he felt no embarrassment.

After all, if he did not follow those ideals, he wouldn't be reunited with Illya.

"Shirou..." Illya began as she awoke from her slumber, a bit slurred but still clear. "Are you a tsundere...?"

Archer looked away.

* * *

**Chapter 10 End**

Been busy I suppose.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Normalcy**

* * *

An unearthly scream resounded throughout the vast desert of the Sahara and only three souls heard this scream.

Illya winced a little as the stray devil screamed, it's scorpion appendages thrashing about in the sand as it tried to get her big brother who dodged around and sliced off bits of the devil off.

She took a quick swig of her water bottle before taking a look at the sitting Cu beside her. Said wolf was looking at the fight with what she could only guess to be anticipation but disappointed whines would come from him ever so often.

It took her a while before she realized Cu whined whenever Archer hit a strike on the devil and his tail wagged whenever Archer dodged. She giggled at the revelation, distracting her from the one-sided fight Archer fought in.

Luckily, today was cooler than most days as nature seemed to favor them today.

"Stop moving you- Rah!" the stray devil cursed as its tail was removed from its body.

This particular stray devil has been eating up remote villages and was on the move before she and Archer caught her.

Illya felt anger at the stray devil but with the carnage that Archer was displaying, she couldn't help but turn away.

With a final screech, the fight was over.

"Couldn't you have just finished it from the start...?" Illya inquired nervously, her gaze directed away from the bloody corpse of the stray.

Archer shrugged. "Its armor is too strong, I needed to chip away the armor and if I used a noble phantasm..." His eyes looked to the distant caravan family who waved nervously at them from their spot on a distant sand dune. "Would you do the honors of altering their memories?" he inquired from Illya.

"U-Uh... I-I don't think mine is good enough yet..."

Archer ruffled her hair with a smirk planted on his face. "Oh? The midget finally admitted?"

Illya turned red.

* * *

"Shirou! I'll revive you!"

As a consequence of taking a contract that gave him money for barely any work, the duo has all the time in the world to relax and unwind themselves. Illya was also homeschooled, much due to her insistence.

"My hero," Archer deadpanned as his character laid dead on the ground and awaited for a revive. As it was, he doubted that Illya would take out the ones who took him out.

"I will save you, helpless civilian! Uwah!" With her little piece said, Illya charged her character through the horde with reckless abandon. An inferno of determination fired up in her eyes she rapidly buffed and debuffed her character while dishing as much damage as she could.

This determination had resulted in her death as her character barely made a third of the way to Archer's character.

With the inferno of determination now thoroughly extinguished, a state of depression overcame Illya. "Mu..."

"A superhero to a cow... Interesting character development," Archer laughed as he put down his controller and made his way to the kitchen.

Luckily for Illya, Cu came to her rescue and with the power of licks and whines, Illya's fire of determination was reignited. "Let's do it one last time, Shirou!" she declared as she stomped on the table with a fist raised. "With the power of Cu's kisses, we shall prevail! Guts!" Only for a growl to resound throughout the house.

Archer's chuckles rang from the kitchen. "An army can't fight on an empty stomach," he remarked.

Illya felt heat rush to her cheeks and ears as Cu, in a rare show of agreement, started to bark a bit. "N-Not you to, Brutus..." she mumbled.

"Did you... Just make a joke while being flustered...?" Archer muttered in disbelief as he stood in the kitchen doorway with plates in hand.

"W-W-Wha-"

He put a hand on his forehead as a distant smile stretched his face. "You're growing up so fast... Soon you'll be a non-midget..."

"Wha-! S-Stop being me-melodramatic!"

The distant smile on his face stretched into a smirk before chuckles erupted from him once again. "Yes yes, anyways, would you kindly help set the table?" he asked light-heartedly as he set down the plates on the table.

"R-Right!"

* * *

"You got this?"

"Yes...?"

Archer's blank stare burrowed into Illya. "You sure?" he asked again.

"I'm sure!" Illya affirmed with a pout. The raising of Archer's eyebrow expressed his doubt to her conviction. "I'm not a little kid anymore..." she mumbled as her pout intensified.

"And yet, you're so short."

"Wha! I am average! You're just too tall! Giant! Stilt legs!" she cried indignantly.

"Stilt... Legs...?" Archer muttered with confusion.

"Stilt legs! Stilt legs! Stilt legs!" Illya started to chant childishly as she waved her arms up and down.

The white-haired bowman put a hand to his forehead and started to massage it. "Right, right, right I am stilt legs, just go."

With a final huff, Illya faced her opponent, a chimera. She took a deep breath before extending her wandless hand towards the beast.

_Activating_. Her numerous magical circuits hummed as she activated them.

_Isolating_. All of her magical circuits besides the one in her arm switched off.

_Concentrating_. Visible wisps of mana formed on her palm.

_Fine-tuning_. The formless mass of mana started to take the shape of a sphere.

_Firing_! "Fuer!" her shout would have been heard by many if it weren't for the bounded field in the alleyway that hid them.

A fine beam released from her palm, which was definitely intended, however, the total eradication of the beast and the wall behind it was not. The result had left the duo blinking.

"Goodness me, now on top of fraud, we got property damage?" Archer said, shaking his head.

"Hey!" Illya cried indignantly, which only achieved in giving him a reason to chuckle.

"Although, I did not think you could dish out that much damage from the amount of mana you outputted," he remarked thoughtfully. "Were you practicing behind my back?"

"I'm not obligated to tell you," Illya declared with a huff.

Within the confines of her mind, however, a figure smiled warmly.

* * *

**Chapter 11 End**

**Mostly just filler to slow down the plot a bit and prepare for the next arc.**

**I was also grounded for the past weeks and only gotten the last chapter out behind my parents' back; rest assured that I am ungrounded now.**

**I heavily apologize to the people wanting longer chapters but if I do write long chapters, I fear that I won't update at all as my motivation will be sapped from me. Excuses, excuses but I do only have limited motivation to write. It is not like this pays.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**New Arc**

* * *

Archer had to admit, not having the range advantage really sucks. He couldn't even summon his bow or else he'll be hit by the thousands of magical spheres that Illya was spewing out like a machine gun with infinite ammo.

"Hard to think that her output power could be much greater if she were to have a fully activated Ruby..." he grumbled a bit as he weaved and dodged around the projectiles.

"Ah! Take this! Hagel!" Illya declared as she switched technique.

This switch, however, lasted a second and a second was all Archer needed. Immediately rushing her, he threw the married blades already in his hands and summoned new ones.

The ones he had thrown were immediately blocked by Illya's star shield, which had destroyed her concentration on her Hagel.

Disregarding her current chances of going back to the offensive, Illya poured her prana to an all-out defense. Dozens of layers of her shield protected her from all directions of attack.

Unfortunately for her, Archer had expected this and had dismissed his married couple and summoned his bow. "My core is twisted in madness," he chanted, prana flowing and saturating the air, "Caladbolg II!"

The noble phantasm roared with energy as it soared towards Illya, who had hastily summoned dozens of her star shields to protect her from the direct impact.

Caladbolg II penetrated them a dozen at a time.

Realizing the growing futility of her effort to defend, she started to charge her attack. And once Caladbolg II almost penetrated the final shield, she fired. "Fuer!" she roared as she put her heart and soul into the technique.

Her spell only served to initiate the noble phantasm to explode prematurely, forcing Illya to protect herself from the resulting explosion and obscuring the area in smoke.

Archer went in to finish this little battle of theirs and swooped in with the married swords in hand. "I win," he triumphantly declared as he stood over the coughing Illya.

"Awwww..." she groaned dejectedly, flopping on the grass with a pout.

Smiling slightly, he sat back on the ground with a huff. "You did well," he said, giving some praise to Illya's ego. "Whenever you are vulnerable like that, be sure to equip your little barrier of yours to protect yourself."

"Right..." she grumbled as she continued to lay on the ground.

"C'mon, let's go, I rather not have to be forced to comb your hair again," he huffed as he stood himself up.

"Eh?! I could comb my hair perfectly fine!" she protested vigorously.

"Oh? You still have so much energy, want to go for round 2 then?" he questioned with a smirk.

"Another round of your beautiful dance? I vote for it!"

Archer had summoned his bow and nocked it with such speed that the tracing process was not even seen. "Who are you?" he asked dangerously low as he slowly moved in between this stranger and Illya, covering her from the stranger's view.

"Woah Woah, easy there," the stranger said, raising his hands in the air in surrender. "I was told by Michael that you could help me with some things," he revealed.

Archer quirked an eyebrow but his bow still was trained on the man. "What's the code?" he demanded.

"I have forged a thousand blades yet none belong to me," the man replied with deep voice. "You sure like the edge in your codes," he said jokingly.

Archer scoffed. "It has a meaning to me," he replied. "Besides, what's wrong with a bit of edge?"

"Ha! I'm starting to like you, Mr. Archer. My name is Azazel, the governer-general of the Fallen," the newly introduced Azazel introduced with a flourish of his hand and a slight bow. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"You sure like the flair in your introduction," Archer quipped with a smirk, lowering his bow and dispelling the arrow.

Azazel returned the smirk. "What's wrong with a bit of flair?"

Illya, meanwhile, watched the scene with a deadpan.

* * *

Archer had never let his guard down even if his muscles relaxed and his weapons dispelled, his mind still has blueprints ready to be traced at a moment's notice and fire upon the leader of the Grigori.

He could never take any chances when he was around Illya. Even if she was a generally better servant in terms of parameters.

"So," be began, taking the time to cross his arms and lean back, "what do you want?"

Azazel took a sip of his tea and sent a wink towards Illya, who was trying her best not to blank out. "Thank you, sweetheart-"

_Trace on. _

The leader of the fallen had to stop himself short as a sword zoomed past his face and impaled the wooden floor. "I am not paying for that," he declared nonchalantly as he took a sip from his tea. "Sheesh, over protective brothers, no wonder he got along with Michael..." he grumbled under his breath.

"So, tell me why you have come to us," Archer demanded a little impatient now.

"Welp, there goes my first impression," Azazel groaned as he pulled out an item from his jacket. "Anyways, I do have a slight request which will not only benefit us, the Grigori, and Heaven but also the Devils," he placed a folder on the table that looked a tad too big to fit in the jacket he wore. "The Khaos Brigade."

Archer quirked an eyebrow as he picked up the folder. "This is rather bulky, are you asking us to take them out or...?"

Azazel shook his head. "Hardly, I just need you to infiltrate them."

"Humans? Devils? Wait, angels as well?" Archer said with surprise. "This isn't some sort of sour joke, is it?" he deadpanned.

Azazel scoffed. "No, the Khaos Brigade is a confederation of many factions, but at the center of them all is Ophis, the Ouroboros."

"The Ouroboros...?"

"The dragon god of infinity," he clarified.

Illya and Archer sucked in a breath. "Dragon god...? And you want us to infiltrate them?"

"At least one of their factions, more specifically the Hero Faction," Azazel revealed, pointing to a handful of photos still on the table. "They are exclusively a faction of humans with sacred gears, with their leaders wielding Longinus's and demonic and holy swords. Their common goal is to put humanity at the top of the world order."

Archer flashed the largest bundle of photos. "And they work with devils? How hypocritical," he scoffed.

"As I said, the Khaos Brigade is a confederation of sorts all united by the power of Ophis and as such many of them still feud with each other."

"Right... So, when do we start?"

* * *

**Chapter 12**

I wrote this in a day, I finally surpassed my writer's block. Haha! Thank Shiro Sagisu's soundtracks on Bleach!

Bleach music helped me find direction to this story and many others if you couldn't tell.

I also do apologize, I was having so much fun playing Skyrim and For Honor.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Set-up**

* * *

"Are you sure Michael actually sanctioned this, Azazel?" Archer grumbled towards the fallen as both looked at the center of the Catholic Christian faith, the Vatican.

Azazel tried to wave away Archer's concerns. "Yes yes," he reassured. "Besides, why else would he entrust you to me?" he quipped.

"To build relations..." Illya mumbled a bit, adding her own thoughts.

Azazel raised an eyebrow at the response of the snow-haired magical girl. "Aren't you a bit too young and sweet for politics?"

In response to the inquiry, Illya pouted and said, "I am in middle school and nearly highschool."

Archer sighed as he turned towards Azazel. "You gonna go or are you going to be back up?"

"I have places to go and things to do," Azazel replied with a shrug.

Archer sent a long stare at Azazel before turning to Illya. "Okay... Illya, could you stay here as back up and recon?"

"Sure... Though could you use my cool nickname during this mission?" Illya said with her head pointed downwards but eyes up to Archer's.

Root, why do I have to deal with this. Archer thought with a groan. "Very well, Kaleido Ruby," he said with a flourished bow.

Illya's cheeks heated a bit before a pleased smile worked onto her face. "Then, good luck, Master of the Great Power of Man, Infinite Blades Master!"

If there was any music playing in the background, it surely had gone silent at that moment.

"Bwahaha!" Azazel howled as he clutched his stomach in pain. In response, Illya sent him a death glare and added more pain to the fallen's stomach by hitting his stomach.

Meanwhile, Archer sent the fallen an annoyed glance before sighing. "Let's just get started," he grumbled.

* * *

One would think that the Vatican, the supernatural and public center of Christianity, would be guarded to counter every single threat in the world. They would be right.

From non-supernatural tuned humans to dragons, the area was nigh impenetrable to outside incursions.

Yet, they never encountered a being that could transfer themselves to another dimension on a whim without expending any energy. Thus, Archer was practically just staying light on his feet and making no sound as he walked through the hallways, taking in the sights the place offered.

_I do wonder what type of security they field here_. He thought aimlessly as he looked, dodging around people without any thought. _Okay, I need to get back on track, where is the item located?_

As he maneuvered around the place, his journey not really rushed in his walking.

Finally finding himself in front of the vault, he materialized himself into the normal plane of existence. "3, 2-" Sirens then started to sound around him, making as much noise as it could without deafening people. "Huh, not even 3 seconds, impressive," he commented as he pulled a blueprint of a sword to his hand.

_Rulebreaker_. His mind supplied to him automatically. He then wordlessly stabbed the door in front of him.

What surely was dozens of protective spells and mechanisms shined brilliantly before shattering out of existence, leaving an ordinary steel door in its wake.

Dismissing Rulebreaker, he summoned a nameless fire sword and pumped minuscule amounts of prana into it, causing it to ignite in unruly flames. By this point, he heard the lovely sounds of rushing footsteps. Seeing that he was a bit behind schedule, he just quickly sliced the hinges off and kicked open the door.

There it was, a fragment of this world's version of what he knew as the last noble phantasm. And all he did was scowl before striding towards it and unbuckling the chains.

A mere fragment, it was a meager recreation of Excalibur and thus was a spit to the face to the sword forged by the Fae. A bastard and unwanted child forged by human hands as a desperate means to protect themselves.

If it was up to him, he would destroy it and slap the face of the person who engineered the sword even if he had to go to hell.

But alas, it was required for their plan.

Excalibur of Destruction.

"He's taking Excalibur!" someone shouted from behind.

Archer grasped the bastard sword and removed it from it's sheathed. No problems came out of holding it for he himself had a bastardized way of taking ownership.

He had copied the composition of the bastard into his soul. The newly analyzed sword seemingly small in the face of the true final phantasm of his world.

As it should.

"Take this, you thief!" an exorcist roared as he charged at him.

Archer used the newly acquired Excalibur Destruction to bat away the man as if he were a fly and the holy sword a swatter. There was a sickening crack when the exorcist impacted the wall but a small groan notified Archer of his survival.

Turning to the remaining exorcists, he charged them as they tried to hastily funnel themselves in. Ignoring the ones that have already entered and clung to the walls, he pushed the people still entering and made his way out of the Vatican.

"Ah!"

"What in God's holy-!"

"Get him!"

Ignoring the cries of the exorcists, he reinforced his legs more and propelled himself out of the nearest exit.

Once outside -- which had startled the nuns and the priests milling about -- he stabbed the Excalibur into the ground, causing an indent in the courtyard, and traced a bow and arrow. Quickly firing the arrow in the air, he prepared to propel himself.

The arrow he had fired pierced the bounded field that surrounded the Vatican, creating a hole in the field.

By now, the priests and nuns around him got the memo and had all hastily tried to use spells to bind him.

It was naught, however, as a beam of pure energy surrounded him from the sky which also had the extra benefit of keeping the bounded field to repair the hole.

"He's getting away!"

"Durandal!"

_Of course, it wasn't so easy. Great._

The shield that encased him and the sky above him broke as a beam of energy pierced it, destroying the fragile integrity.

"Please hand over Excalibur and stop this nonsense," a gruff voice asked.

Archer turned around, his red mantle and brown cloak fluttering lightly. His hood came off as well, allowing all to see his face and stark white hair. "I do have to apologize, but I do really like swords, mind giving me yours as well?"

Durandal, the sword of miracles. A true holy sword birthed not out of desperation nor by human hands but by the prayers received by God, given form. Unlike the bastard sword stabbed unceremoniously on the ground next to him.

"Haha! You're such a jester but unfortunately I can't."

"Very well."

**Chapter 13 End**

* * *

Hahaha, you doubted my ability to update this story quickly! How right you are...


	14. Chapter 14

Before we start, I had actually edited some lines from the last chapter.

**Chapter 14**

**Mr. Durandal**

* * *

Archer evaluated his opponent and to say he was a tad bit worried was an understatement. Massive muscles, wizened eyes, and the sheer size of the man before him reminded him of a certain servant.

Even Durandal, a sword bigger than your average person, was like a toothpick in the man's hands.

Note to self, do not attempt to block his attacks.

With the speed impossible to a person of his size, the man shot off. The swiftness on his feet made Archer pause as flashbacks of his past entered into his mind.

"It is a mistake to freeze in battle," the man declared as he stopped in his tracks, his sword gleamed as it closed into Archer's neck.

Archer made no move for he did not need to. The holy sword gleamed as stopped short from his throat, the power within the blade pulsed with energy as it threatened his life.

"Let me ask again, hand yourself and Excalibur Destruction willingly," the man's voice was soft despite the coarseness of it.

Archer sighed as he grabbed Excalibur Destruction's hilt and backed away, duly noting that the man had allowed him to do so. "I do have to apologize, you do seem like a man that is full of compassion but I have a mission I must complete. Therefore, before I escape or die trying, my name is Archer, may I ask for yours?"

The man replied with understanding, "Vasco and before we begin our bout, I will say that I respect your courage."

Archer smirked as he hefted Excalibur Destruction up onto his shoulder. "Trust me, it isn't exactly courage," he remarked before taking off in the opposite direction, Vasco immediately giving chase.

Due to the factor that Excalibur Destruction was weighing down, the massive priest was gaining ground almost immediately. Realizing this, he began to take sharp turns and twists as he tried to shake off Vasco.

Unfortunately for him, it would seem his comparison of Vasco to Herakles was annoyingly holding up. The man followed him relentlessly as they charged around the Vatican, destroying walls and floors in the process.

Finally realizing the utter futility of running, Archer ground his retreat to a halt and faced the big man.

Their resulting clash of steel shook the Vatican to the core.

"I assume that Excalibur Destruction isn't your type of sword," Vasco commented as their blades locked.

"Oh, whatever could you mean?" Archer replied sarcastically as he took steps to disengage himself with the man.

"For one, the blade looks too big for you and two, your style is full of holes."

To that Archer smirked. "Everything would look small to you," he remarked as he disengaged and spun around to throw the holy sword out of the vicinity like a javelin. "And, you're right! Bastards are not my style!" he yelled as the sword broke a hole in the barrier and exited the premise. He distinctively saw a flash of pink before he turned around to face his opponent once more.

"Shall we continue our bout?" he asked as he landed, his hands gripping the familiar hilts of a certain married couple.

Vasco, on the other hand, was frowning as he looked beyond Archer. "Your accomplice is a child...? Your sister?"

Archer too frowned at the obvious emotional jab the priest was trying to hit. "The runt can take of herself," he grunted as he readied his stance.

Vasco turned his eyes to Archer once again. Saying nothing, he charged the dual-wielding servant.

Diverting the blow away from him, Archer spun around and aimed a strike to the priest's exposed back, slicing the skin and drawing first blood.

Vasco frowned and gained distance away from Archer as he touched his injury to access it. Unfortunately for him, Archer wasn't going to let up in his attacks.

Summoning his black bow, he fired barrage after barrage at the priest, which had the effect of pinning the man, and started to back away. But a rather faint feeling in his gut told him something big was coming.

"I am the bone of my sword! Steel is my body and fire is my blood!" His quick chant was immediately followed up by him firing a large layered barrage and then the dismissal of his bow.

"Durandal!"

"Rho Aias!"

The beam of pure energy met his ultimate defense and immediately two petals broke, a third soon followed as his defense started to buckle under the stress. Blood started to pour down his arm but he paid no mind, for his victory was no assured. A weapon started to trace in his hand.

As the attack ended, the unmistakable gleam of a sword shined as an injured yet determined Vasco charged with Durandal gleaming with energy. Yet, the man's blade met no foe for there was none.

A long nameless chain shot down from above, wrapping itself around him and Durandal.

Archer gripped the chain from above before throwing it down, a nameless spear formed in his hand and he threw it at one of the spaces in the link of the chain before leaving. He sent a glance at Durandal, his mind trying to see if he could replicate it before wincing. Damn.

Reaching the edge of the bounded field, he summoned Rule Breaker once more and stabbed it into the barrier, potentially destroying it but he could hardly care less.

As he left, he took note of the panicked faces all around the area as non-supernatural news vans pulled up around the Vatican. This was expected, after all, this was the first time that the Vatican was attacked in plain sight since World War 2.

_I wonder how they are going to cover this up._

He sincerely hoped that Michael actually sanctioned this little action of theirs.

* * *

Michael felt betrayed as he read the reports of the attack on the Vatican by a human he had put his trust to. All he could do was frown and clasped his hands over themselves. "Really, Azazel?"

**Chapter 14 End**

* * *

No idea how- Oh right, the Durandal really confused you guys, didn't? Well, if you just look up Vasco Strada on the internet, you'll find most of his profile there.

Side note, I wrote this whole thing while I had a headache.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Infamy**

* * *

"Damn, the Church are sure ruthless," Archer muttered as he saw the house, that he and Illya lived in, go into flames. He sent a glance at Illya, who was quite literally sprinting in the air as he held her by the scuff of her magical girl uniform.

"Shirou! Let me gooooooo! My collection!" Illya cried as she started to pry herself from him.

Archer gave her a deadpanned stare. "We could always buy more, I am pretty sure you didn't get any exclusive toys, right?"

"Hey! They aren't toys!" Illya huffed as she childishly glared at him. "And it doesn't matter if they aren't limited-time exclusives! They are still my merchandise!"

The duo started a small staring competition, to which Illya relented in favor of continuing her struggle against him. Finally, she relented as she drooped and hung her head low. "Fine..." she muttered.

Archer gave a faint smile to Illya before turning his gaze back to their burning home. Luckily, the people who had lit the fire had made some efforts in controlling the fire to contain it.

Many would see it foolish to stand there in the open when your enemies obviously are around and more than likely waiting to spring the ambush or trap. However, they were in their spirit form so that was of little concern to either of them.

Cu, the ever-loyal wolf of Illya, was forced to stay in their new hideout. Archer made a quick mental note to get some food for the wolf and some water.

"Let's go," he declared as he ran off.

"Eh? Hey! Wait for me!"

* * *

Archer smelt the familiar scent of holy divinity that he associated with the angels, specifically Michael, from behind the door He became curious at the presence of the Seraph but at the same time a bit apprehensive.

Illya, lacking a magical sense, barged into their hideout with her body automatically pathfinding itself to the nearest couch. She didn't even notice the Seraph as she collapsed and immediately fell asleep.

A gentle chuckle erupted from Michael at the antics of the little girl. "Truly, she is innocent," he spoke gently as he patted her head with care.

"She is," Archer affirmed solemnly. "So..." he drawled as he sat himself down on another couch, facing Michael. "What business do we have?"

Michael's gentle smile was quickly replaced by a small frown. "You attacked the Vatican, why?"

Archer blinked before letting out a loud groan. "Azazel didn't tell you, did he?"

A small sigh escaped the Seraph's lips as he got a full view of the picture. "I am sure my brother has a reason for this, has he told you why?"

They both knew that was a rhetorical question as Michael knew a bit of Archer's guarded nature and Archer knew himself.

"He wants to use this attack as a way to attract the attention of the Khaos Brigade, specifically the Hero Faction," the bowman revealed, as he got comfortable. "We were to infiltrate it and all."

Michael's eyes dawned with understanding as he relaxed. "I understand, so are you going to keep the Excalibur?" he questioned.

Archer turned his gaze to the lazily discarded blade that laid against the corner. "If you want to bring it back, go ahead. I can just create a copy and call it the original. Although, I do need you to keep it locked up tight from the rest of the world so they won't get suspicious." As he spoke, he traced a copy of the Excalibur of Destruction.

Michael sat there, a bit stunned at the reveal of the fact that Archer could trace an Excalibur. "Is there a limit on how many you can make...?" he inquired with hesitance.

Archer shrugged as he dispelled the sword. "As it is, I could with Illya's vast reserves." Of course, the last part was a little lie, he could trace many Noble Phantasms mostly due to the reserves of an unknown source of which Illya too relied on.

"W-Wah... Who're you talking to, Shero..." Illya drowsily asked as she sat up. She turned her head to Michael and let out a noisy yelp. "U-U-Uh..." she mouthed out, her mind trying to comprehend who sat before her.

Archer merely smirked as Illya began her stuttering mess of words.

* * *

"You sure you don't want the Excalibur?" he asked again.

Michael shook his head. "Now that I have the full picture, I know that this is a temporary sacrifice I must make. Be warned, however, the Church will still look for it with the same ruthlessness they are currently using."

Archer smirked a bit. "Don't worry, we will not step on your toes too harshly," he said amused as he leaned on the doorframe.

The archangel nodded a bit. "I do request you don't kill them but I solemnly understand that your mission is of most importance," he said in admission. "Good luck, Mr. Emiya."

Archer watched as Michael stepped through the conjured Gates of Heaven and watched as it vanished with no trace that it ever was there. He heaved a sigh as he went back in. "Great way to make a man like me feel old..." he muttered, a sudden note popped up in his head. "Definitely going to stab a few swords into that bastard," he grumbled.

"E-Eh?! S-S-Shirou said a bad word!" Illya screamed with utter disbelief as she pointed accusingly at him. "You must be an impostor! A doppelgänger! Where did you put my Shirou!"

"Calm down, Illya..." Archer said a bit nervously. Wait... My Shirou?

_To Be Continued_

**Chapter 15 Done**

* * *

Sorry for not updating, I just recently got over some minor depression in being forced out of wrestling and my failing grades.

I also plan on upgrading the number of words per chapter to 3k or 5k and see how that goes...

I personally think it's a bad idea but I just reread my Bleach stories and I must say I was impressed with it.

Also, I do plan on updating my bleach stories and I am planning to rewrite my New Order fanfic just to fix grammar and pacing (which means I won't be actually changing the story).

Also big shoutout for the Bleach soundtrack for motivation and ideas, I especially thank Lie Fu's "Life is Like a Boat."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**The Nameless Caster**

* * *

Illya stretched herself as she took a break from her little video game session, her arms creating small pops from some knots. Cu looked at her curiously as she stood up and made her way to the kitchen.

She wasn't hungry per se but she figured she might as well feel other sense of satisfaction other than video games. No matter what alternate timeline he was from, Shirou's cooking was surely something that could get him ascended to godhood.

_Speaking of Shirou, I wonder how much longer he's going to take..._ She wondered absent-mindedly as she got the container that held some leftovers of her beloved brother's cooking. As she waited for the food to heat up in the microwave, she closed her eyes in concentration. ... _My Big Brother Shirou senses aren't tingling so no girlies are approaching him..._

She finished her little moment of concentration with a confident nod before getting the food out and moving towards the rice cooker for some rice. _Uwa... I really want to spend time with Shirou..._ Her face lit up as she processed her thoughtless thought. _Wah! This is so embarrassing..._

As her emotions switched from one to another, Cu took advantage of the small height gap to nab two fried chicken breasts leftovers and made a mad dash to what he deemed a safe distance.

Obviously noticing the sudden shift of weight, Illya blinked owlishly before she looked down to the half chicken breast absently. "Cu! You meanie!" she said angrily as she put the container on the countertop before taking after the backstabbing tamed wolf.

Utilizing her superior servant speed, she swung right in front of the tamed wolf with a glare.

The wolf halted his tracks and slowly started to back away with his eyes slowly going to the dog flap that led to the outside.

Noticing the line of sight of her pet, Illya glared harder as she spoke, "Don't try it, Cu! I have the superior speed!"

In turn, Cu grunted several times before taking off towards the door. He could literally smell freedom as he neared the dog flap. He felt the wind blowing to his face from the free air of the outside. His freedom was-

"Gotcha!" Illya declared as she tackled Cu with almost back-breaking speeds.

The poor semi-phantasmal wolf, in a vain attempt to spite his owner, started to eat the chicken breasts with haste.

Only, for both of them freeze as someone knocked on their door. "Amazon delivery!" a distinctly female voice called out.

Illya completely forgot Cu at that moment and leaped towards the door to open it and receive her beloved package. "Yeah! It's finally... Here..." her voice trailed off as she opened the door to find not one person but multiple people standing before her.

"Hello, is this perchance the Einzbern household?" the same female voice questioned, belonging to the leading person right in front of her.

Illya could feel the suppressed magical energy that belonged to the inhabitants of this world. While in her world, magical energy rarely exerted actual pressure besides some magecraft; she felt the people's energy before her trying to exert pressure all around.

"U-Uh... Nope! The wrong household!" she said in a panic as she slammed the door on the people's face and immediately rushed away from the door.

The door burst open with magical energy as she deflected the ball of energy by slapping it away.

"Tell us where is the Excalibur of Destruction is, child," a gruff man said as he walked through the door first while drawing out a sword hilt from the box he held, causing many figurines to fall out.

"M-My limited edition Magical Girl Madoka figure!" Illya gasped, aghast at the blatant disregard of her ordered figurine. "H-How dare you!" she cried as she extended her hand out and summoned Ruby. "Fuer!" she roared as she conjured the beam of magical energy from Ruby's tip.

The group of what obviously was exorcists tried to quickly gain ground towards her but unfortunately for them, they were simply too slow.

The leading gruff man was first to be hit by the beam and his body was more or less used as a tip of a spear to push the rest of the exorcists out into the open street.

"Father almighty!" someone from outside cried, announcing that there may be more exorcists outside.

Illya grimaced at the thought of fighting more people and her mind wandered to the discarded boxes and figurines spewed around the front door.

An idea sparked as she started to concentrate mana into Ruby. Suddenly, the whole house was covered in thousands of overlapping star shields that prevented all entrance into her abode.

Heaving a sigh from the exertion, she turned her attention back to the packages and figurines. She cried silent tears as she looked at the crushed Modoka figurine. She then proceeded to do clean up and bring the figurines to her room.

* * *

Vasco Strada gave a mild reprimand to the team of exorcists that had attacked Archer's hideout without waiting him. They had claimed that they saw the red-black themed man leaving the house a few hours prior, leaving the man's supposed sister.

They had thought that they could swiftly intimidate the girl into giving them Excalibur Destruction if it was on her person or at the house.

Of course, it had failed.

He turned to the massive bright dome composed of what appears to be star shields. "I wish to talk, my child!" he boomed with as much of a kind voice he could muster whilst keeping his volume high.

He spotted a face peaking backward from the upper window of the rather normal house. She quickly hid at seeing his form.

Having a big amount of patience but knowing that time was not on their side, he started to roll his shoulder and stretch a bit, trying to get some stiffness from his aging body.

"Please give me a chair and do get one for our guest as well," he commanded kindly.

"Okay," his apprentice replied with a hint of the annoyance, obviously from the fact that he was acting informally for a very serious affair.

Shaking his head lightly, he disregarded his apprentice's annoyance and turned back to the house. "You leave me with no choice," he said a tad bit seriously as he reared back his fist. "I will try to be gentle," he added as his fist broke through the barrier with ease, creating enough force to create a hole big enough for someone of his massive stature.

_Hm... She has potential. _He mused lightly, as he strode in.

* * *

Illya paled as the giant of a man, the one who had fought Archer a while back, broke through her barrier and strode towards the stronghold. "Great..." she groaned as she sent a look at the organized mess that was her anime figurines before looking at Cu.

As luck would seem to have it, the man, Vasco Strada she believed his name was, was actually quite polite and was waiting outside for her to answer the door. Of course, it could be a trap and he was waiting so he could fight her outside.

Well, perhaps she could just hit him with a surprise attack? Standing in the hallway, she readied herself, taking up a stance that would hopefully be able to evade any unsuspecting attack to herself.

She breathed in and then breathed out. "Fuer!" she roared as Ruby lit up and released the familiar beam of mana.

As it turns out, the hulk of a man quickly evaded to the side of the door seemingly at last minute if the smoking side of his sword was any indication. "I see..." he said quietly as he frowned at the remaining pieces of what used to be this house's front door.

With Illya, she soon found two windows broken and multiple exorcists quickly entering with their light swords already drawn.

"Schneiden!" she instinctively called out as she crossed blades with an exorcist, almost swiftly overwhelming him with her E rank strength.

Cu, in an attempt to alleviate pressure from his master and actually do something, shoved and bit any exorcists that tried to attack.

Knowing that she needed to put some distance between her and the exorcists before Vasco joins into the fray, she erected dozens of shields that essentially paved the way to one of the broken windows. Quickly grabbing Cu, she jumped out and immediately held onto Cu as she took off to the sky.

"Durandal!"

She moved instinctually to her left, dodging the beam of energy that cut through where she was previously. She quickly spun around and shouted, "Schießen!"

Hundreds of balls of energy shot off towards the ground, peppering the house, the exorcists, and some of the fencing in the barrage.

She cried silent tears for the sacrifice she had just made but continued on her journey in the rendezvous point where Archer said he was going to meet her in case of the destruction of this hideout.

Only for her to get some tingles and dodging to her right as dozens of spells whizzed past her. She quickly shot up a bit higher, into the clouds as the spells quickly redirected itself and shoot at her once more.

"Hang on, Cu!"

As she shot upwards, she couldn't help but grimace as the lack of visibility denied her ability to locate the guided spells.

Hearing the sizzling sound of a guided spell, presumably a fire-type, from below her, she cast a shield below her and continued her ascent. A sizable explosion parted the clouds as dozens of spells impacted the shield.

Gasping for some air, Illya steadied her breathing before entering the cloud once more but this time descending to just below cloud level before taking off.

After half an hour or so, she struggled to keep Cu in her arms despite the wolf not doing anything. "Ah..." she groaned as she tried to keep her arms steady.

Finally giving in to her E-rank strength, she swiftly cast multiple shields before her and set Cu down and as well as sit down herself.

Cu swiftly shook himself of most water, spraying the tired Illya in cool water. "Haha... Thank you..." she groaned out before stretching her arms and back.

Cu merely tilted his head in confusion.

* * *

Vasco's apprentice merely sighed at the sight of the ruined house and injured exorcists. He walked up to his teacher and asked, "Why did you let her get away?"

Vasco looked to his apprentice and then back to the injured but not dead exorcists. "I may not be the smartest but I know when someone has a place to rendezvous with their allies," he said wisely as he turned to some uninjured exorcists who were focused on keeping track with the girl via their tag spell. "Besides, who would I be to leave people injured? Go, get some beds and contact the nearby church for assistance."

His apprentice nodded, actually quite surprised but glad that his teacher actually has a plan.

"Yes, father."

* * *

Archer clicked his tongue in annoyance as he used his superior speed in spirit form to swiftly get to the rendezvous point he had set. _Why the hell did the exorcists have to attack now?_ He thought bitterly with gritted teeth.

At the very least, they were now officially in the Hero Faction but all of that would've been dulled if Illya was killed. _I will not lose her again!_

Landing before the abandoned church, he kicked open the door. "Illya!" he called out as he scoured the area, desperation clinging to his heart.

"Wah! Shirou, don't scare me like that!" Illya cried as she glared at him from where she was sitting previously, near the front of the church.

Archer heaved a sigh as relief flooded his system. "You shouldn't scare me like that either, Illya..."

"Hehe... Sorry, Shirou..."

Archer palmed his face as he finally calmed his breathing. "Are you hurt anywhere?" he inquired as he sent his gaze on her once more.

"Ehm..."

"Illya..."

"I'm fine!" Illya yelped as she got nervous under Archer's intense gaze.

Archer kept his intense glare of a little bit longer before sighing. "If you say so... But if I see a single scratch on you, I will change my credit card password and not tell you, little missy," he declared.

"Yes, mom!" Illya yelped unintentionally.

"Mom?"

"Y-You... S-S-Sound-"

"Well, as your mother I will suspend your gaming time to the weekends," Archer declared as a smirk wormed to his face.

"W-Wah?! Why?!"

"You didn't do your chores nor your homework for the month."

Illya gasped. "Y-You knew?!"

Archer's smirk gained a gleam. "Once we settle down at the Hero Faction's hideout, you will do all the homework and until then, no playing on the weekdays."

"Wah! Why are you so mean, Shirou?!" Illya cried once more as she gave him her best puppy eyes.

Root almighty, why does her puppy eyes make me feel this way... Archer groaned.

**Chapter 16 End**

* * *

Bah, been busy with school. I apparently have sinus inflammation and scoliosis so I've been spending less time on my phone. I also get a lot of headaches whenever I do go on my phone.

Also, yeah! We got 800 favorites and over 1k follows!

Wooo!

Oh, I also doubled the word length for this chap.

Anyhow, bye for now and don't let the coronavirus bite.

Cya, SaveTheWeak, out.

Ah, also if you have any questions I'll happily answer them next chapter but be warned, your question may not be answered for maybe a month.

Zaijian, SaveTheWeak V2, out.

Also, I have noticed my deteriation of certain writing aspects in my writing and as such, I shall try to improve it.

Sayanara, SaveTheWeak V4, out.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**New Heroes**

* * *

Archer sent a glance at the strands of mana that weaved itself into letters, words, and then to a coherent sentence. He sighed once he read it once more, as he finished up washing dishes. So they finally approached us. He mused to himself as he turned off the tap.

Quickly cleaning up the sink from water and soap, he removed his apron and hung it. "Illya, I'm going out for a bit, be ready to move out once I get back," he called as he moved to the door.

"W-Wah?! B-B-But Shirou! My magical girl figurines are coming today!" she cried out as she turned to face him, away from her video game she was currently playing. She utilized her puppy eyes to great effect as she stared at him, making him cringe slightly.

"Alright, alright," he relented as he opened the door. "I can push back our arrival a few days."

Oh, the smile she showed him melted his heart.

* * *

Archer sighed as he opened the little phone the Hero Faction had given him as a line of communication and pressed a single button before closing it once more.

"Muu..." Illya groaned as she laid sprawled on the church bench. "My figurines..." she pouted as she stared at the uncaring Cu, vying for the wolf's attention.

Unfortunately, the tamed wolf was disinterested and simply chose to take a nap.

Archer smirked a bit as he silently stood up and bent down to Illya's ear. "Lonely, are we?" he inquired softly and smugly. Having sat on the bench behind Illya, the poor girl had not seen the soothing voice next to her ear; this and a multitude of other facts led to her becoming flustered and embarrassed.

"Wah!" she cried as she rolled off the bench she had previously laid sprawled on. Being a servant as she was, she luckily didn't feel any pain from the impact. "S-S-Shir-r-rou!" she stuttered in a flustered mess.

Archer schooled his face in a worried expression as he asked, "Are you alright, Illya?"

"A-A-Ah... Y-Yes!" she replied as she picked herself up and dusted her magical girl uniform from any dust.

Bringing his face closer to Illya, Archer dusted some dust off of Illya's shoulder. "You should be careful now," he admonished, "I can't bear you getting hurt."

_I can't bear you getting hurt_. Illya repeated in her head as she looked at Shirou with an increasingly flustered face.

"If you get hurt, I don't know what I will do..." Archer continued, his cheesy lines effectively embarrassing Illya. "My sweet angel," he finished, his face forming a smirk instead of a smile.

Illya burned red with hot embarrassment as her mind continuously repeated the phrase that Archer had just said, her mind ignoring the smirk plastered on his face.

Finally, her mind couldn't take anymore and shut itself down.

The doors creaked open as a blonde distinctively European duo walked in. "Hiya!" declared one of them.

Archer looked at the new arrivals with a judging gaze, his expression flipping almost instantaneously. Illya, on the other hand, continued to swim in her flustered state of mind and ignored everything else. Cu just lowered his head and covered his head with his paws.

"Oh? You guys arrived rather late," he mused as he stood to greet them, mostly ignoring the indignant look the woman gave him.

"I do apologize, we were a bit preoccupied when you called," the man, Arthur as he recalled, apologized with a bow.

Archer raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh? It has only been barely half an hour and you guys are already busy?"

Arthur merely smiled. "We are a busy lot, after all."

Le Fey, the woman who had first announced the duo's presence, chose this time to interject herself. "By the way, is she okay?" she inquired as she pointed to Illya.

"Don't mind her, Caster is just trying to wrap her head around things," Archer nonchalantly replied, shrugging. "That aside, I do not believe we do not have much time," he declared, trying to steer the conversation back on track and off of Illya.

"Ah yes, Le Fay, if you would?" Arthur asked as he motioned for her to take care of that.

"Right away, big brother!" Le Fay said cheerfully as she flourished her broomstick a bit before tapping the air outside the church.

"Hey, midget," Archer said as he tapped Illya's shoulder.

Illya snapped out of it as she looked around confused before her eyes landed on the new duo. "Eh?! W-W-When did they get here...?!" she cried as she accusingly pointed at them.

Ignoring Illya's cries of panic, Le Fay jumped on Illya, pulling her into a hug. "You're so cute!" she declared as she rubbed her cheek on Illya's cheek. "I mean, without the gloom, you're just so adorable! Big brother, can we keep her?!" she asked excitedly.

Archer and Arthur just looked at them with a fond grin and smile respectively.

"B-Bhig bw-wother, whelp we!" Illya desperately cried.

Cu just huffed as he tried to get more sleep.

* * *

"I don't wanna get off, big sister!" Illya pouted childishly as she clung onto Le Fay's head.

"Illya..." Archer sighed as he dusted his clothes off just in case he caught anything.

"Let's go on a ride! Magical witch fly mode, on!" the childish witch declared as she hopped on her broom like a surfboard and started to fly around.

"Weeeee!"

"Le Fay, that's dangerous," Arthur stated calmly but a sigh immediately replaced his composure. "I suppose it's a good thing that they are getting along well, hm?" he asked as he turned to Archer.

Archer clenched the fist out of Arthur's view as he smiled a bit. "Yeah."

_Damn it, Illya..._

**Chapter 17 End**

* * *

Been really busy with school work, especially since AP exams are coming next week. Also been busy optimizing my skyrim se for sex mods lol.

Over half of this chapter was made right after chapter 16 so I have no idea what line of thought I had when I was writing this.

Also, I do apologize for not making longer despite the time has passed but I obviously haven't been motivated lately despite the amount of dirty free time I have.

I also extend my prayer to the UK where I had spent most of my life in and where many of my friends are at. I also pray for other countries but I obviously personally pray for my friends in the UK and people back here in the US.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Accommodation**

* * *

Archer frowned deeply as he stared at the leader of the Hero Faction, Cao Cao. The smug grin plastered increasing his already low opinion of the spear wielder. _Damned spearmen are always assholes._

"So I am guessing that the exorcists had pushed you guys into a corner too soon?" the Chinese man asked, his school uniform swaying a bit as he leaned on the wall with arms crossed.

Archer rubbed the back of his head with a bit of annoyance. "Yeah, while I am confident in taking on Vasco Strada and I am confident that Caster could take on exorcists on a similar scale, the fact that they could easily find our little homes were beginning to become annoying," he said. "There is also the fact that they started to target Caster specifically in order to get ahold of the sword."

"Do you do not have the ability to use the Excalibur Destruction?" another man, a magician by the name of Georg, inquired.

Archer shrugged merely saying, "It does not fit with my style."

"I suppose that is a valid excuse but why do you not use it in order to obtain victory? Is it, again, your inability to wield it?" Georg pressed, reaffirming his question that Archer tried to deflect.

To that end, Archer shrugged again in response. "I only took it in order to deprive an asset of the Church, which in turn deprives an asset of Heaven," he revealed, lying through his teeth with the usual ease.

Cao Cao immediately latched on to his words and decided to divert the questioning back to him. "Oh? Do you have a vendetta against Heaven?" he inquired curiously.

Archer inwardly smirk but using his utmost acting ability, he schooled his face into a frown and crossed his arms while putting weight on his right leg as if frustrated at something. "Humanity is being chained by the supernatural forces that guide it such as the numerous pantheons and Heaven. Sure, their knowledge and protection were certainly useful back in Antiquity and the Medieval Era. However, there is a point in which an institution that made up the foundation of society eventually needs to be done away with in order to achieve a greater goal.

"In this day and age where the moonlit world is separated from the human world, and humanity is slowly achieving feats rivaling certain aspects of the moonlit world, the greediness of the gods will impede on the Age of Mankind. Institutions like the Churches who rely on the waning power of Heaven in order to function need to be weakened and either reformed or dissolved."

Of course, Archer truly didn't believe half of what he had just said but he needed a clear motive to present to Cao Cao that was similar enough to be considered loyal to the cause as well not just a copy and paste of the spear-wielding jackass' ideals in order not to incur suspicion. It took him a whole day to come up with those believable ideas and was quite proud of the fabrication.

Cao Cao smirk widened as he leaned more on his spear, his posture relaxing at the reveal of Archer's faux motives. "Removing the chains of mankind, eh?"

Archer shrugged as he looked away, his attention briefly going to Illya who was chatting away excitedly with Le Fay and another woman. His thoughts briefly mulled over the past, a past where he had lost her.

"We once had a run-in with a demi-god in the past," he said, his frown becoming genuine at the distant memory. "He had scarred Caster quite badly in an attempt to use her as a source to power a relic," he frowned even deeper as he realized that perhaps something similar had happened to this Illya in her past.

Despite being siblings in both of their timelines, they were both different from their versions of each other that sharing their past was quite awkward for them. It was only recently that they started to share small stories with each other, slowly showing each other's pasts.

Admittedly, it was Illya who initiated the past sharing and she was the main contributor as he had lost much of his memories in his long service to Alaya.

So far her past seems very comedic, with some tones of depressions but he very well knew that some events will twist it. Perhaps he was wrong and that she just longed to be with her friends and her Shirou.

"A demi-god, huh," Cao Cao muttered, drawing Archer's attention back to the conversation at hand. "That was enough to draw hate towards the gods? I am not judging but that reasoning seems shallow."

Archer observed as Georg sent an irritated look to the spearman, obviously irritated at the insensitivity. "I don't hate the gods," he corrected. "Tell me, how many heroes had been forsaken in their petty greed?"

Cao Cao thought for a second before answering, "I suppose Hercules is the best example as well as Gilgamesh in your specific category."

"Now tell me, how many times had the moonlit world hold back humanity's progress and sometimes regressed it?"

"Hm... There are quite a few cases such a the Salem Witch Trials, the Bronze Age Collapse, and the Dark Ages, well at least at the beginning."

"I am no scientist but if humanity gains the power to surpass the established order, the gods will take action and thus regress humanity."

Once he was done spewing his nonsense, Archer closed his eyes briefly, in order to sigh in relief while disguising it as a sign of frustration.

"What if every human had the ability to use sacred gears and utilize balance breaker?" Cao Cao inquired, his grin wide.

Archer was left miffed at such a suggestion. _If every human had the ability to use a weak noble phantasm? Granted, most sacred gears were more like mystical codes than noble phantasms but even then... A whole army of mystical code wielders? No, a whole world full of people having such power?_

Cao Cao's grin widened even further at the speechless Archer. "Come, let me show you something," he declared as he started to walk towards something that he considered grand.

Archer regained his composure and followed suit. "What do you mean if they had the ability?" he asked as they made their way.

"Exactly what I mean, I want to put humanity on top, and what is the best way to do that? The hero faction will be the spearhead that will plunge itself straight into the evil and humanity shall be the shaft that will allow us to dig deep while not losing ourselves. Humanity will eventually triumph and kill every single one of them.

"And we shall first start here," Cao Cao finally stopped as he stepped into a vast space and motioned to all around him.

What Archer saw made him hate the spear-wielding bastard even more.

All around the space laid dozens of people withering in pain and insanity as black tendrils clung onto them. On every single one of them was a sacred gear that glowed brightly as it tried to evolve.

To make matters worst, Cao Cao seemed to be proud of what was going on behind him. "This is the first step to the evolution of mankind," the bastard declared. "So, I ask you... Will you join me?"

Archer looked at Cao Cao's hand before a faux smirk plastered itself on his face. "Sure," he declared in turn, taking Cao Cao's hand and shaking it.

He sent a look at the withering masses and clenched his unoccupied hand into a fist. _I am sorry, but for the sake-_

"Illya!" he heard Le Fay and another woman shout, drawing his attention behind him and away from the spearman.

He watched speechlessness as Illya tried to heal a nearby victim, drawing upon a potion from a dimensional space in order to attempt to heal them.

_"I will save everyone in front of me, no matter who they are!"_ Distant memories of foolish optimism plagued his mind as he watched as his sister try to help the withering masses.

Again, he was reminded that this was not the Illyasviel he knew.

**Chapter 18 End**

* * *

I ain't gonna give you all optimism for a consistent schedule and more frequent updates but I do plan to update this story one more time in a few days... Hopefully...

I just hope that I won't run into an author's block and give up...

Anyhow, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter... I think the writing style may be different but I tried to stick to the usual style in order to be consistent. Also, I do believe I messed up on Archer's character so if I did please tell me so I can try to make him more Archer-like.

I only got back to anime recently so I may have forgotten Illya's and Archer's characteristics as well as the Hero Faction members'.

I quite like reviews so post one if you like it or have criticism. Flames are quite funny to read as well if you have one.

SaveTheWeak, out... Hopefully not forever.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Friction**

* * *

What was she supposed to do? Just simply watch as dozens of people die in total agony? It quite angered her that the people here have the audacity to call themselves heroes while committing such horrible treatments to innocent people.

She was a bit mad at Archer as well for even going along with it... Shirou would never let this fly even if they were to go undercover.

Drawing upon her limited knowledge of healing magecraft, she tried to heal the blisters that ran rampant over her first patient's skin.

"Are you alright?" she asked with a grimace, fully knowing that she would not receive an answer in the loud gut-wrenching screaming the person was letting out.

"They are all currently undergoing their evolution towards balance breaker," one of Archer's current companions explained as he approached her.

Glaring at the man briefly, she spotted Archer and his other companion approaching as well.

Doubt started to well up at seeing the emotionless stare Archer gave her. Her previous resolution in saving the people around her now being drowned by the wails and screams of pain of the said people.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, her voice resolute despite the doubt creeping up on her.

The smug spearman, Cao Cao she believed, spoke first. "In order to test the limits of humanity and spear all the evil beings in this world cleanly in the chest," he explained, his eyes scanning over the withering masses. "In order to achieve that, we are giving them a certain boost."

"Why are you issuing this much suffering when you could just train them to become stronger?" Illya inquired quietly, meekly even as she focused half of her attention to healing the withering person laying on the ground before her.

"Tell me, do you know that not everyone has the ability to achieve a balance breaker? Whether it is their innate ability or drive, many humans never achieve the peak of their power. Of course, this is discounting the numerous people who have no knowledge of their sacred gear."

Illya remained silent, instead choosing to focus her attention on trying to ease the person's wounds. She observed that there were no wounds except for two little holes on the side of their neck. Glancing at another victim, she carefully observed the presence of the snake-like bite on each person around her.

"Are they even human anymore?" she asked in a quiet voice once again. "You made them into dead apo- vampires..."

Cao Cao raised an eyebrow at the question of the masses' humanity before chuckling. "What gave you the idea we turned them into vampires?"

Illya's glare intensified at the idea of them turning the people into creatures worst than vampires.

"We didn't turn them into non-humans if that was what you were wondering," Georg cut in, trying his best to diffuse the situation, "all we did was give them a sliver of power from Ophis."

Archer silently look at the masses, his thoughts becoming confused as he looked at them. _All of these people here are being infused with power from the ouroboros dragon?_

Indeed, now that he observed them more, he found that the tendrils that were clinging to the people were actually indeed snakes, their mouths attaching itself into the host and injecting power into the host's veins.

_This is worst than I thought... _He looked over to Illya again, only to freeze at seeing the horrified look on her face. It would seem that they have something in common...

"Enough," he spoke up, drawing the attention towards himself, "as much as I like to hear the little details, I do not tolerate you horrifying my sister with such details."

"I-I am not scared!" Illya burst out, drawing the attention back to her. She then glared heatedly Cao Cao, who she suspected to be the mastermind behind the whole plan. "It's just that... Why are you condoning and taking amusement in the pain of others!"

Cao Cao seemed to frown a bit at the accusation, his weight shifting itself as he lifted his weight from his spear. "Those are big words for a child," he mused as his cocky grin was still fixated on his face. "Tell me, in the face of overwhelming evil, would you fight evil with a lesser evil or stand righteously even if it means to succumb to evil?"

Illya pondered on the question for a second before responding with, "Even if it means losing, I will never sacrifice anyone in order to defeat the evil, even at the cost of my life."

"Suicidal at a fault, hm? You got spirit, kid but you will eventually wake up to the reality-"

"I know I will, I know that my ideal is impossible," she declared, cutting Cao Cao off from his tangent. "But even if I can't save everyone... I will still continue even if I ultimately fail."

"What if your ideals lead to the ones you try to save ultimately turning on you?" This time it wasn't Cao Cao or Georg who asked the question but Archer.

At the oddly specific question, Illya faltered a bit before she remembered something. "Even if I am betrayed, at least someone lives," she stated with certainty.

Archer curled his lips, his mind wanting to refute her words but his heart trying to put it to rest. Sighing, he scratched the back of his head in irritation.

"You can continue to heal them," Georg said, speaking up and drawing Illya's attention. "You may keep their health in check as they undergo the process but you cannot try to remove or hamper the process. While we do indeed seek for an army of people who can use balance breaker if the casualty rate is too high, it would be just wasting human resources."

Cao Cao glared at Georg, his eyes judging whether or not the mage was challenging his system. Thus sensing this, Georg defended himself, "I am not seeking to challenge your process, Cao Cao, I am just trying to maximize our resources."

"Oh? Care to tell then why you didn't heal them or have Le Fay heal them?" Cao Cao inquired condescendingly.

Georg simply pointed at the person that Illya had treated. "He is no longer screaming, his heart is still beating, and his boosted gear is still evolving. I nor Le Fay had any knowledge of keeping the patient alive while continuing the process." He then glanced at Le Fay, who was being held back by Arthur.

Cao Cao looked at Illya again, his glare lessened to that of a stare. "Well, you better get to work, kid."

Illya glared at the man once more before looking at the stabilizing victim who screamed no more but instead laid peacefully asleep. She then turned to Archer who ignored everything going on around him and instead pondered deeply.

One positive and amusing thought popped in her head as she noticed Archer's behavior. Just like Shirou.

**Chapter 19**

* * *

Was playing EU4 as Naples and was about to form the Roman Empire then my game ended which made me depressed and which made me write. Last time I only wrote because I was depressed about Io's death in Code Vein. So I guess I only write cause I am depressed...?

Also I think I may have thrown in a Code Geass reference, I dunno. i am tired.

Also, I wrote this at 3 AM again, fuck me.

SaveTheWeak, out.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**The Hero Faction Part 1**

* * *

"Come on, magical girl Illya! You can do better than that!" Le Fay light-heartedly mocked as she dodged the numerous attacks Illya sent her way with skillful ease. Her use of her broomstick in order to fly allowing her to quickly and sharply change direction compared to Illya's need to move both her body and direction.

"Muu! I will defeat you, witch Le Fay!" Illya declared with vigor in response to Le Fay's mockery. Pushing herself, she tried to swiftly catch up to the well-versed magician only to receive a few dozen spells that blew up in her face, her protective barrier thankfully tanking all the damage.

Unluckily, it would seem Le Fay's intention was to temporarily obscure Illya's vision and thus used it to conjure up earthworks that sought to restrict Illya.

Realizing Le Fay's attention but not sure of the attack, Illya swiftly cast a massive star shield above in order to protect bombardment from above and made haste to clear out of the smoke.

When seeing the earth rising up towards her, she conjured up an energy beam and fired it. "Fuer!" she called, her attention split as fired the beam and maneuvered out of the way of the earth in case her attack failed.

"Hiya!" Le Fay shouted cheekily as she appeared right behind Illya and grabbed her shoulder. "Binda ljós!"

Straps of light suddenly appeared from Le Fay's hand and surrounded Illya thrice before tightening, thus restricting her.

"Wah!" Illya cried briefly as she was bound by the spell. Soon, however, she dejectedly hung her head in submission.

"I have defeated you, magical girl! Now, I shall gleam in the knowledge you possess!" Le Fay declared in triumph as she gave Illya a cheeky smile.

Illya soon fell into their roleplay once more as she defiantly declared, "I will not hand the secrets to you, witch!"

"Hoho! But you have no choice in the matter, for I will just read your mind!" Le Fay giggled as she tried to keep a straight face.

"With the power of love! I shall break these chains that you have bound me in!" Illya declared once more as she started to charge her energy, her mood now deeply immersed in the dialogue, unlike Le Fay who giggled once more.

Le Fay's giggles soon turned into stifled laughter which drew Illya's attention and broke her trance.

"Muu! You ruined it!" Illya childishly pouted as she pointedly but childishly glared at Le Fay.

"Sorry, it's just that the lines are so funny," the witch-themed magician admitted with a smile.

* * *

While the two were doing their little roleplay, their two brothers watched from afar.

"I do not know if they are truly fighting or just playing around," Archer commented dryly as he leaned on the wall once more as he had stood up when Illya was endangered.

Arthur, meanwhile, was more grateful than unamused as he smiled a bit at Archer's comment. "I do agree, they do seem to be taking their game a bit too far but it is quite a spectacle seeing them," he said as he looked to his sister. "It is been a while since Le Fay had this much fun and as a brother, it makes me happy seeing her so."

"By the way, is this place in some sort of excluded space? I would think that their little game would attract some attention," Archer inquired as he turned to Arthur.

The Pendragon put a finger to his chin as he thought about it. "I do believe it-"

"Ah! This place was made by Georg," another person cut in. The person being a greyish-white haired man with ruby eyes not dissimilar to a homunculus.

Not easily being disgruntled by being interrupted, Arthur turned to the person in question and gave him a polite smile. "Ah, Siegfried, I do have to apologize but I cannot duel you today. I have to watch over my sister after all."

The newly tagged Siegfried scoffed at the response. "I wasn't going to ask, yet. I came here to see the new guy and his sidekick," he revealed.

"Oh? Checking me out, are we?" Archer inquired as he subtly took in every detail about the newly met member.

"Of course, after all, I heard you went toe to toe with the old man Mr. Durandal." Siegfried then looked at Archer with an observant eye. "By the way, Cao Cao didn't give you a uniform yet?"

Archer raised an eyebrow at the question. "A uniform?" he asked in confusion as he looked at both Siegfried and Arthur. He then looked to Le Fay and with his keen eyesight, he took note of her attire despite the sparring session or game she was participating in. "School uniforms?" he asked with confusion, recognizing the uniforms.

Arthur, for his part, sighed at the mention of their uniforms. "Yes, I do believe our official uniform is a Japanese fall season school uniform," he admitted. "The reason behind it was the fact that most people here had not experienced high school yet and Cao Cao had figured to make this their high school life."

Archer was speechless for a little bit longer before he finally snapped out of it. "Oh? So Cao Cao has a high school fetish?" he inquired sarcastically as he leaned on one side. He then looked to the little battle happening right before them. "I wonder how low this high school ranks."

"I do hope that we adults do balance the ranking," Arthur said merrily, playing along with Archer's little joke.

"You are a swordsman, right?" Siegfried inquired suddenly as he caressed his chin.

Archer considered his response carefully. "I do dabble in swordsmanship," he responded nonchalantly.

"Then, I challenge you to a duel."

Archer, half-expecting this but at the same time half-not, stared at Siegfried. He then looked to Arthur who merely sighed and gave him a shrug.

Before he could give his response to the matter, a beam of energy suddenly cut the little catwalk in which they all stood on. The beam, which was unmistakenly Illya's, had nearly hit Siegfried and had caused all three of them to look at the girls.

"Eek! Sorry!" Illya called out, apologizing for nearly hitting them.

Surprisingly, Siegfried was the first to respond. "Oh? That was quite fast, I barely even noticed the attack until it was too late."

Being the only one to have fought Siegfried, Arthur looked surprised at the reveal.

Meanwhile, Archer sighed as he massaged his forehead. _I guess this place seems lively enough._

**Chapter 20 End**

* * *

At this point, I am just putting filler until I decide on what I am going to do with this story as this is undoubtedly my most popular one and thus can't simply sleep on it any longer.

Also, I have noticed that my writing has degraded which is undoubtly my lack of intrest in writing this story... I just need to get Illyasviel in Fate Grand Order... Fuck gacha!

Oh, Evangelion is nice so expect a more deeper tone for all of my stories for the near future as I try to "develop" my writing and hopefully balance it out. Not really the best anime to get back into anime but hey, it hurt my soul.

I may rewrite _Snow _if I feel pretty enough.

I feel like writing a new story but gotta atleast get the others on their feet.

SaveTheWeak, out


End file.
